A famend British crocodile skilled has admitted 60 counts of animal cruelty and little one abuse.
An Australian court docket has heard that Adam Britton filmed himself torturing dozens of canines till nearly all of them died.
He then posts movies of the incidents on-line, the place he additionally accesses little one abuse materials.
Britton, a distinguished zoologist who has labored on productions for the BBC and Nationwide Geographic, is because of be sentenced at a later date.
At a listening to within the Northern Territory Supreme Courtroom on Monday, prosecutors laid out the case in opposition to him.
Most of the particulars of Britton’s crimes are too graphic to be revealed, so the decide “grotesquely” warned individuals to depart the courtroom.
Chief Justice Michael Grant mentioned he was involved that listening to the info of the case might trigger “nervous shock,” earlier than he took the uncommon step of relieving safety officers and junior court docket officers, native media reported.
Prosecutors instructed the court docket Britton had had a “sadistic sexual curiosity” in animals since not less than 2014, and in addition to exploiting his pets, manipulated different canine homeowners into giving him their pets.
He was utilizing the net market platform Gumtree to seek out individuals who typically reluctantly quit their pets resulting from journey or work commitments, and construct a “relationship” with them to barter custody of the animals. In the event that they contacted Mr Britton for updates on their outdated pets, he would inform them “false narratives” and ship them outdated pictures.
In actuality, he was abusing animals in a delivery container on his property which was geared up with recording tools – which the court docket heard he known as a “torture chamber” – earlier than sharing footage of his crimes on-line underneath aliases.
This video was finally handed to Northern Territory Police who arrested Mr Britton in April 2022.
Of the 42 canines he mistreated within the eighteen months earlier than his arrest, 39 died.
Mr Britton has been remanded in custody since his arrest and can return to court docket for his sentencing listening to in December.
Born in Yorkshire, Britton grew up within the UK earlier than shifting to Australia greater than 20 years in the past to work with crocodiles.
The 51-year-old has a PhD in zoology and has constructed a world status for his experience, holding an instructional place at Charles Darwin College and internet hosting David Attenborough whereas the veteran broadcaster filmed a part of his channel’s ‘Chilly-Blooded Life’ docuseries. Property.