Target: Barry Hughes, Chief Crown Prosecutor, Somerset, U.K.
Goal: Seek the harshest possible punishment for teen found guilty of kicking, punching, and otherwise brutalizing cows at a dairy farm.
A teenager has pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to one or more cows after being caught on video performing some of the cruelest acts a local vet had ever seen. Owen Nichol, an apprentice stockman at a dairy farm, was filmed punching, kicking, and otherwise brutalizing animals at Pyrland Farm. This farm had an otherwise immaculate animal welfare record according to inspections, and Nichol was terminated immediately with the remaining staff undergoing a training workshop.
Nichol is seen on video punching calves, kicking cows in the face, and kicking calves to get them to move or stand up. The undercover video, taken by rights group Animal Equality, also showed the teen pulling on cows’ tails, pinning them to the ground, and beating them with metal gates. The teen also admitted to repeatedly punching and slapping nursing cows.
In court, the teen claimed that he was having a ‘bad week,’ as his grandmother was in the hospital and his girlfriend recently broke up with him. Animal welfare advocate Toni Shephard, executive director of Animal Equality U.K., took the stand to say that this is no excuse and that Nichol should be given the maximum possible penalty under the law, or 12 weeks of imprisonment. Sign the petition below to stand with Shephard in demanding a harsh penalty for this cruel abuser.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Hughes,
Owen Nichol, a teen who worked at a dairy farm in Taunton, Somerset, was recently found guilty of animal abuse for beating and brutalizing cows. The teen was caught on tape punching, kicking, and beating cows with metal gates. He was also seen pulling the tails of the animals, pinning them to the ground, and shouting obscenities at them.
The teen claimed that he was having a rough week, but this is a poor excuse. Anyone who can commit such violence against an innocent animal could pose a threat to both animals and humans in the future. We, the undersigned, demand that this teen is given jail time as well as a full psychiatric evaluation and possible anger management classes in order to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Cindy Andrie
This sick little shit was “having a ‘bad week'”? Let him experience what a bad week really is like in prison. Inmates love gits like him who abuse helpless animals. If this is how he behaves when dealt life’s little setbacks, what will he do and to whom when bigger things happen to him–kill?
Great comment….said it all in one sentence
Amen! But from what I’ve read, there is little chance of changing this disgusting bully’s way of coping with life. He will only get worse.
What are we humans breeding these days? Sick violence, baseless hatred, and warped attitudes are becoming more the norm, and I fear where it is leading…….
Nichol should be given the maximum possible penalty under the law, or 12 weeks of imprisonment.
Please do not let this vile young man away with this atrocity. He needs to pay for these depraved assaults on these. Cows and calves. NO. Excuses. If you do not give him the maximum sentence then when he faces more problems when he has a bad day–they will be on you!
There is ABSOLUTELY no excuse for abusing -more like torturing – those poor cows! His lame justification for “having a bad week” is pure BULLSHIT and we all know it! That kid is going to be a menace to society or worse if he is not punished accordingly! He needs more than jail time! He should be put on a work farm WITH cows and other farm animals and closely monitored for a couple of years! And pay a hefty fine at least $10,000!
Death to animal abusers!!!
OWEN NICHOL is the one who tortured the cows
Barry Hughes, Chief Crown Prosecutor, Somerset, U.K.
Thanks to this WORLDWIDE PETITION, we are asking that OWEN NICHOL gets the harshest possible punishment for kicking, punching, and “otherwise” (probably raping) brutalizing cows at Pyrland Farm.
We stand stand with Shephard in demanding a harsh penalty for OWEN NICHOL, this cruel abuser.
WHAT’S NEXT, HE’S GOING TO ABUSE AND RAPE CHILDREN??????????
I’d like to give him a real bad day.what is he going to do next
This kid is unstable. 12 weeks in prison is just going to piss him off! He needs to be committed to a mental hospital for an indefinite period of time, no less that 5 years. He needs to undergo serious therapy and never EVER be allowed to be around an animal again, which includes owning a pet.
Lock this disgusting boy up and throw away the key.
While I 100% agree that this person should be punished just know that what he did is not uncommon on dairy farms. All dairy farms should be shut down and people need to stop eating dairy. In buying and consuming dairy products you are supporting this abuse.
I agree Beth that this not unusual on dairy farms.There is NO EXCUSE what
so ever for ANYONE to abuse any animal on a farm or anywhere else for
that matter.But since this is a farm issue it needs to be stopped. There needs
to be strict laws made and enforced.There needs to be inspectors,and
cameras mounted around on the farms. There should NOT BE ANY GAG
LAWS. If you aren’t doing anything wrong then you have nothing to hide.
This stupid crul teenager needs the EXACT TORTURE these innocent cows and calves suffered and then throw his sorry butt into jail for the rest of his miserable life.
3 month sentence? Are you kidding!?!? That piece of shit should spend a lot more time in jail for what he did to those poor cows!
WORTHLESS PUNK!!
This Asshole needs to find out what a bad time should be for sick heartless freaks like him,put him in jail and hopefully there will be somebody to beat the shit out of him.
I am sure there will be many prisoners with bad week in jail, these assholes should get acquainted with them.
Owen is more than just cruel he has a real problem and I hope that he is severely punished. If he is old enough maybe 6 months or more in jail would make him think about this. he should be fined a large amount, banned from having or being around animals,demand he get psychiatric help as he is cruel,vile,evil and if he doesn’t get help he will harm humans next.
You will see his face and name again if he isn’t stopped now before he continues his way of disgusting and sadistic behavior towards life.
Disgusting little bastards.
The fucking teen and hos useless parents should be beaten and stoned.
Rough week, blah, blah. Sure this went on for longer than one week only anyway – abusers have perfect “excuses”, next time it’ll be something else…it’s a “pattern”. How come other people with the same setbacks don’t do this, how come normal people don’t torture the helpless, taking pleasure, and with such twisted intensity?????? Truth is, this guy doesn’t need an excuse – he does it just “because”, because he’s “sick”.
Letting a classic repeat offender type like this off easy, really?? NEEDS to be on an abuser registry, seriously.
No WONDER the public is fed up. Longer sentence…psychiatric monitoring, not just for a few months but for a lifetime.