В доме в Норт-Ист найдены мертвыми шесть собак и три кролика из-за жестокого пренебрежения

'Smell of death' at North East house where dogs and rabbits tragically died An RSPCA officer has spoken of the stench at the property in Ferryhill where six dogs and three rabbits were found dead There was a 'strong smell of death' at a house in County Durham where several dogs and rabbits tragically died. An RSPCA officer has spoken of the stench at the property in Ferryhill, where six dogs and three rabbits were found dead. Five of the six dogs were found to have perished in filthy crates, with a sixth having chewed her way out of the cage before dying in the living room. As well as this, 29 live animals, including dogs, ferrets, birds, snakes, and other reptiles, were rescued after being found in another connected property. After pleading guilty to several offences under the Animal Welfare Act, Nathan and Jade Race were given lifetime bans from keeping all animals following an investigation. They were also handed suspended prison sentences at a hearing at Durham Crown Court on Friday, July 31. It was September 16 last year when RSPCA inspector Clare Wilson went to Ford Terrace in Chilton, Ferryhill, in response to a call the charity had received about dead animals in cages at the address. When she arrived, she was thousands of flies covering an entire upstairs window, and a deceased dog lying in the living room behind the kitchen door. The police were called after the landlord and local residents were spoken to, and Nathan Race arrived, but declined to enter the property. Inspector Wilson prepared a written statement which was read out in court, detailing what she found when she went inside. It reads: "I went inside with the police officers, the house was extremely messy and dirty. There was a strong smell of death and faeces and flies were buzzing around everywhere. "I looked round the property first and saw six dead dogs. One was loose behind the kitchen door and the rest were in crates in the upstairs front bedroom. I also saw three dead rabbits in indoor plastic hutches in the same bedroom and the kitchen. "I didn’t see any food or water in any of the enclosures, some had empty, dry and upturned bowls. The water bottles attached to the rabbit hutches were also empty and dry. "There were faeces all over the floor in the living area and spilling out of the crates, and thick layers of faeces in the rabbit enclosures, especially the hutch at the end of the kitchen. The dead rabbit was lying on a thick mouldy layer of droppings. "There was lots of rubbish everywhere and empty food tins and bags on the surfaces and floors and all over the bed. I saw that the toilet water was low and dirty." Nathan Race agreed to sign over all of the living animals into the care of the RSPCA, and they were taken to a local veterinary practice, with the vet writing that none of the surviving animals 'had their needs met to the extent required', adding that the deceased pets 'suffered unnecessarily' because of lack of food and water. The vet said: “Nine animals died in a fairly short space of time. No action was taken to minimise their suffering and to prevent their death. It is clear that the cause of death was neglect, with no water or food being available. "They were not provided with sufficient resources for their basic needs such as water, adequate food, space, beds or toys. The environment was filthy. Any reasonable and humane person would have recognised these problems and addressed them." The RSPCA interviewed the couple about what had happened, with Nathan saying he saw 'nothing visibly wrong' with the pets. When they were asked by the inspector what they thought animals needed from their owners, they replied: "attention, food, water, love." The animals involved have been rehomed, with some going to specialist facilities which can care for them properly. Nathan Race, of Poplar Terrace, West Cornforth, was ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work and 30 days of rehab activity, and Jade Race, of Coronation Terrace, was made to do 40 days of rehab activity. Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Wilson added: "This was an extremely shocking and sad case to investigate and I am so relieved that the owners of these animals can never legally own another one again. "I would urge anyone thinking of taking on large numbers of animals to think carefully about the care requirements and long term financial commitments that are required to properly care for any animal within animal welfare laws. "Guidance can always be found on the RSPCA website and in DEFRA Codes of Practice for pet owners. Thankfully the animals removed from this couple have gone on to find their forever homes now." Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here's more information about what this means and how to do it - you can also do it straight away by clicking here. ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for breaking news and our biggest stories. You can join this WhatsApp community here. It will keep you up-to-date with news as it breaks and our top stories of the day sent directly to your phone.