A member of the travelling community has been sentenced for 'cruel' and 'sadistic' animal cruelty after decapitating an animal.
Gareth Curtis Senior, of Park Road in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, was prosecuted by the RSPCA at Swindon Crown Court on Thursday, November 6, under two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and one count of killing an animal without the consent of the owner/occupier of the land.
The court heard how Curtis deliberately travelled to Swindon with a co-defendant to go hunting and film videos of them killing animals to share on Facebook.
On September 6, 2025, the 43-year-old was seen standing on a deer's throat while it was still alive, before throwing the protected animal to a pack of dogs to be mauled to death.
On November 16, 2025, he was caught on video holding a rabbit upside down by its feet and repeatedly hitting it around the head while joking about it.
The animal was then ultimately decapitated by the treatment.
Horrific videos of the animal abuse were played to the court, and the RSPCA states that numerous images of dead deer and rabbits were found on the mobile phones of both Mr Curtis and his co-defendant (who cannot be legally named).
Curtis has pleaded guilty to all charges.
"There were repeated incidents of serious cruelty, sadistic behaviour and a very high level of pain and suffering," said a prosecutor for the RSPCA.
"Photos and videos were shared on social media by a second defendant who was jointly charged. He has been dealt with in a separate court.
"The co-defendant said they had visited the area initially intending to hunt."
Curtis has previous 14 convictions for 25 offences, although none of them are for animal cruelty.
The RSPCA also raised concerns regarding his care of dogs.
Ms Bailey, defending, said: "He said he was under the influence of drugs at that time which impacted his judgement.
"He tells me he has been clean for over a year now and has bettered himself.
"He is from the travelling community and he accepts some of the hunting practices are traditional.
"He doesn't want to be separated from his family, particularly his children.
"He is remorseful for his actions."
Judge Townsend said: "This was cruel and disgusting behaviour.
"This was deliberate behaviour on your part with no concern for the animals involved.
"Your background doesn't excuse the cruelty."
Curtis has now been handed a 10 month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
This means he will only go to jail if he reoffends before November 2027.
He has also been given a probation requirement and a disqualification order for five years.
Following the criminal charges, Curtis's dogs were rehomed in the autumn of 2025.
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