More than 100 guinea pigs and dozens of cats found living in filthy house

An experienced RSPCA inspector described the scenes She found as “the worst I have seen”

More than 100 guinea pigs and dozens of cats were found living in filthy and hazardous conditions in a house which was full of live and dead flies, a court has heard

When RSPCA inspectors and police officers searched the property they were met by an “extremely overwhelming smell of ammonia” and found rooms full of dirt, soiled litter trays, faeces, and animals.

Scores of guinea pigs were found to be running loose around the living room in scenes which an experienced RSPCA inspector described as was “the worst I have seen”. A total of five guinea pigs and six cats had to be put down on welfare grounds.

The couple responsible for the conditions have been handed suspended prison sentences and been banned from keeping animals for life.

Newport Magistrates Court heard that RSPCA inspectors, vets, and police officers attended the home of Helen and Michael Weston in the Duffryn area of Newport in May last year following concerns for the welfare of a cat called Mogs.

The RSPCA had previously dealt with animal welfare concerns at the property over a period of years, and had offered to rehome and help with neutering. However, those offer of help were not accepted and the RSPCA had not given access to the property.

In her witness statement RSPCA chief inspector Emma Smith told the court: “As we entered the hallway there was an extremely overwhelming smell of ammonia which continued right throughout the property.

“The property was extremely cluttered with household items strewn everywhere and there was dust, cobwebs, dirt, grime, live and dead flies all in abundance throughout the property.”

The court heard it took a vet, vet nurse, and multiple RSPCA officers “hours” to locate and confine all of the guinea pigs, many of which were running loose. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter

The court heard that inspectors found a total of 31 cats living in rooms and hallways throughout the three-storey property including a “small bathroom” which was described as “in no way fit for purpose to either use as a toilet or as a room to keep cats”.

The court heard the rooms were dirty, cluttered, and strewn with faeces and soiled litter. The rooms also lacked ventilation and clean water.

The court heard the worst room in the house was the living room. In her statement chief inspector Smith said: “This room contained an uncountable amount of guinea pigs and was nothing like I had ever seen before.

There were in excess of 100 guinea pigs, multiple running loose and others confined to cat baskets or small indoor guinea pig enclosures, multiple of which were stacked on top of each other or had fallen to an angle.

“The environment was the worst I have seen, with ground down faeces so thick and hard that it had produced a ‘mud carpet’ throughout the living room.

“The legs and bottoms of all of the furniture within the room had rotted and there were large gaping holes within the sofas which multiple guinea pigs were running in and out of, amongst springs and rotten wood.

“There was a small amount of dirty water in a bowl in the middle of the floor but all of the drinking bottles that I saw attached to cages that had guinea pigs confined were all empty.

“Whilst I was standing in the room I observed multiple guinea pigs trying to access water out of these empty bottles. The loose guinea pigs were running in and out of the fabric of the furniture remains and were exposed to metal springs and other hazardous materials.

“The guinea pigs confined within cages varied in group numbers and some of the enclosures were extremely overcrowded. Again, the majority of these enclosures were broken so had mesh wiring hanging out and were not secure. They did not have access to a clean environment or hides or enough space to exhibit normal behaviour.

“The room itself was swarming with moth type creatures and the smell of stale and animal excrement was overwhelming. As furniture was moved to look for guinea pigs, it would disintegrate in our hands and expose more dust, grime, cobwebs and bugs.”

Many of the guinea pigs were found to be pregnant.

A total of 114 guinea pigs and 31 cats were taken into the care of the RSPCA during the visit – five of the guinea pigs and six of cats were subsequently put to sleep on welfare grounds.

Helen Elizabeth Weston, aged 61, and Michael Bernard Weston, aged 73, of Sir Charles Square, Duffryn, Newport, both pleaded guilty to five offences under the Animal Welfare Act when they returned to court for sentencing.

With discounts for their guilty pleas the defendants were each sentenced to 12 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months, and they were each were ordered to pay £200 towards prosecution costs and a £154 victim surcharge. The defendants were also banned from keeping animals for life.

After treatment and care, the guinea pigs and cats rescued from the house were taken to RSPCA animal centres and subsequently rehomed.

Following sentencing, chief inspector Smith, said: “All animals deserve to be treated with kindness and should have their needs met.

“Owners are responsible for their pets’ needs and must seek help if things get out of hand. Neutering is so important and there are so many benefits, not to mention preventing unwanted offspring.

“Unfortunately we are seeing more multi-animal cases in general and we urge anyone who is struggling to seek help. I’d like to thank everyone who was involved in this case, from those involved in the initial rescue to the vets, and branches and centres who took on the animals. These animals have now been happily rehomed.”