Man who used dogs to hunt and kill badgers jailed

A man who used his dogs to hunt and kill badgers and docked his puppies' tails has been jailed for three years.

Lewis Wray, 38 and of Runnymede Road, Doncaster, who admitted 11 animal cruelty offences, was also banned from owning animals indefinitely at Sheffield Crown Court on 12 October.

His co-defendant, Jake McLay, 30 and of Lime Tree Avenue in Armthorpe, was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for a year.

Sgt James Shirley, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "People using dogs to hunt and kill wildlife is illegal, cruel and unacceptable."

McLay, who had previously admitted two animal cruelty offences, was banned from owning animals for 12 years and told to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

The RSPCA began investigating Wray after information was passed to them from social media profiles and posts by animal welfare charity Naturewatch Foundation.

When police executed a warrant at Wray's address in December 2024, they found a wire-haired lurcher called Ruby and three Patterdale terriers called Peanut, Pip and Sky.

The terriers all had scarring to their faces, while Pip had "lesions of missing fur", the RSPCA said.

Peanut and Sky had also had their tails docked, according to the charity.

The investigation found videos, audio messages and chats had been exchanged between Wray and McLay, who were said to have regularly hunted wild mammals together.

A further two warrants at separate Doncaster addresses, which were executed in May 2025, uncovered a lurcher called Reggie and terriers called Rosie and Max.

Reggie and Rosie were found to have multiple scars when they were examined by a vet, according to police.

All seven dogs were removed and taken into the care of the RSPCA.

Sgt Shirley said: "The fact that neither Wray nor McLay sought treatment for their dogs when they must have been suffering in pain shows a distinct lack of care and empathy.

"Both would have known that in taking their dogs to a vets, the vet would have known how they obtained the injuries and raised the alarm."

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