Animal ban for man over tortoise death

A MAN who caused the death of his tortoise called King Billy was yesterday banned from keeping animals for a year.

George MacIver, 33, failed to give the ten-year-old horsefield tortoise proper care and it became so ill it was put down.

He claimed when he lost his job he didn’t have the money to take it to the vet. But, he later phoned the SSPCA and reported his pet was poorly.

MacIver pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to causing the tortoise unnecessary suffering, including letting it dehydrate, before its death between April and September last year.

Sheriff John Baird told him: “It is obvious this animal must have suffered.”

He also ordered MacIver to pay a £100 fine, reduced from £150 because of his early plea.