London, July 26 (IANS) Three British teenagers set fire to live chickens kept as pets at a primary school, a judge ruled, saying it was ‘horrific’ and the court was ‘sickened during the trial’.
The three boys – aged 15, 15, 13 – used inflammable liquid to ignite the two birds at the St Peter’s Primary School in Teesside, Middlesbrough, 350 km from London, in August 2009.
John Elwood, prosecuting on behalf of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), told the Teesside Youth Court that one of the chickens died instantly, while the second died later from injuries, the Daily Mail reported.
The school caretaker made the grim discovery the next morning.
Police found the three teenagers in the vicinity and said they smelled of petrol. All three, however, pleaded not guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
District Judge Kristina Harrison said: ‘People will be sickened by this, I was certainly sickened during the trial. It is absolutely horrific.’
One boy was sentenced to a detention and training programme for six months, while another was given supervision for 12 months and ordered to pay 50 pounds compensation to the school. Both of them were banned from keeping animals for three years. The third would be sentenced later.
