A day-tripper smashed a seagull to death in front of children after the bird knocked his chips out of his hand, a court was told. John Llewellyn Jones grabbed the protected seagull by the leg and smashed it into a wall when he was on a day trip to the seaside in Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset. A court heard the lesser black-backed gull was killed after it flew around Jones and tried to snatch his chips. The bird knocked the snack out of his hand, North Somerset Magistrates' Court heard.
ones then caught the gull by the leg and bashed it against a wall, killing it. His actions left bystanders, including children, "shocked", the RSPCA said. Jones had pleaded not guilty to an offense under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. However, magistrates found him guilty after they heard from two witnesses who presented "credible and compelling" evidence. Jones was handed a 12-week curfew between the hours of 8pm and 8am. Simon Evans, the RSPCA inspector, said: "This was an unthinkable and despicable way to treat an animal with this gull smashed against a wall by the man solely because it knocked chips from his hand."This was deliberate cruelty borne from the fact that this man cared more for his chips than what his actions did to the poor gull. Simply, the man showed a blatant disregard for an animal because he was annoyed about his chips."Witnesses saw the attack and shocked bystanders, including children, had to look on as the man killed the gull."