Convicted paedophile jailed for hunting and killing animals

A convicted paedophile who filmed his dogs hunting and killing wild animals has been jailed for a year and banned from owning animals for life.

Brandon Robb, 28, was sentenced at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after admitting a catalogue of wildlife offences.

Footage retrieved from Robb's phones showed his two Lurcher dogs being encouraged attack deer, rabbits, hares, a fox cub, wild birds and domestic cats.

Robb, who was caught after uploading footage to social media, is already serving seven years for a series of sex attacks on children in Fife.

The abuse of two girls and a boy - the youngest just eight years old - happened in the town of Leslie between 2011 and 2015 when Robb was a teenager.

Robb's animal offences took place between August and November 2022 in woods and farmland in Fife and Kinross, usually at night.

Some of the phone footage seen by the court showed him instructing his dogs to attack animals.

In one clip a cat is filmed desperately trying to hang on to a branch and in another Robb holds up the bloodied body of a cat that had been attacked by his dogs.

Police Scotland said in another video a heron is shot with a catapult and a dog ordered to attack it.

Other footage showed two dogs chasing a roe deer and killing it. One dog is also seen with a hare in its mouth.

In other videos, the dogs can be seen with blood on their muzzles and Robb praising them for their actions.

Robb was reported to the police after a member of the public saw his videos on social media.

A police a search of his home recovered items that included torches, a pair of binoculars and a hunting knife.

Robb was also convicted of assaulting one of the officers during his arrest.

Police Scotland wildlife crime officer, Con Ben Pacholek, said the crimes were some of the worst he had ever seen.

He added: "Robb boasted about the prowess of his dogs and gloried in the suffering of the animals he ordered them to harm. His actions were despicable."

Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: "Brandon Robb's actions had no purpose or motive other than to fulfil his own desire to inflict pain and suffering on innocent animals."

Robb had 21 previous convictions and had served time in prison for animal crimes.

He was jailed in 2014 after admitting using his dog to hunt a rare piebald deer.

This happened while he was awaiting sentencing for another animal crime where he stole 30 ducks from a farm in Fife.

Robb has been banned indefinitely from owning or keeping animals.