Jail sentence for '˜evil' teenager who shot cats welcomed by animal charity

Cats Protection has welcomed a jail sentence for a teenager who maimed cats with an air rifle, as befitting his '˜evil and callous actions'.
surrey policesurrey police
surrey police

Police have confirmed 19-year-old Franky Mills, of Long Gore, Farncombe, was sentenced to two years imprisonment yesterday at Guilford Crown Court for a spate of seven cat shootings that left one pet dead and others seriously injured.

Of the five cats Mills shot in Cranleigh, one lost an eye, one had to have a leg amputated, and one had to be put down after being shot in the neck, according to Surrey Police.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cats Protection’s advocacy manager, Jacqui Cuff, said: “Cats Protection welcomes the sentence given to Franky Mills.

“His evil and callous actions resulted in the death of one cat and caused horrendous pain and suffering to many others, not to mention the trauma caused to their owners, their families and the wider community.

“We are pleased that the judge gave a significant custodial sentence and hope that it acts as a deterrent to anyone else who would commit acts of cruelty to cats.

“The sheer volume of instances where cats are injured and killed by air gun attacks is very concerning.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Last year Cats Protection recorded around 200 incidents of shooting, 22 per cent of which were fatal, and these are merely the cases reported via the media so the actual number is likely to be much higher.

“A recent survey we did of vets also showed that many more cats are killed in air gun attacks than 20 years ago.

“We are calling for much stricter regulation on the purchase, possession and use of air guns as we strongly believe this will help to protect cats and other animals from these shocking attacks.

“We want to see England and Wales following the example of Scotland and Northern Ireland where it is illegal to own an air gun without a licence and we will continue to press the government on this whenever we can.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mills plead guilty to seven counts of criminal damage and seven counts of possession of a firearm and will serve a 12 month custodial sentence and 12 months on licence, police said.

Mills was also fined £100 and his phone and air weapons were confiscated and will be destroyed, police added.

See news: Jail for teenager who shot at and seriously injured several catsDon’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage

2) Like our Facebook page

3) Follow us on Twitter

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

Always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.