A man has been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to 93 animals including three birds of prey, poultry, and a ferret and her kits.

Warren Salter, 43, of Tolgate Way, Maidstone was disqualified for five years from keeping poultry; given a conditional discharge of 24 months and made to pay £260 in costs at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, March 11, in a case brought by the RSPCA.

Inspectors were called in July 2013 about the animals kept at an address in Holm Hill in Harrietsham. Salter had left them in the care of neighbours when he went on holiday but they were concerned about the conditions they were being kept in.

The RSPCA had made a previous visit too, but had found the conditions acceptable at the time. They had deteriorated by the time they visited for a second time.

RSPCA inspector Caroline Doe said: “The conditions we found these birds in were appalling – not a suitable environment at all. There were suffering birds everywhere I looked.

“The poultry were all cooped up in fenced-in, makeshift pens which were a complete mess – full of faeces and muck with no proper shelter. Most of the birds were in a really bad condition as a result of this terrible environment. Many were sick and later died.

“The owner just seemed oblivious to how bad things had actually got.”

The birds were taken into RSPCA care and the ones which survived have been rehomed.