A man who tied up a cockerel in a trap and used it as live bait to lure foxes has been convicted of animal cruelty . The bird was found dehydrated , emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin after being tied up with nylon bailing twine for days . Nicholas Wells , 37 , of Bedworth , had pleaded not guilty , blaming a burglar for the offence - which was discovered by RSPCA inspector Louise Labram last June - but was found guilty after an eight-hour trial . A man who tied a cockerel to a trap and used it as live bait to lure foxes has been convicted of cruelty . The bird was found dehydrated , emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin from being tied up . He appeared in court in Birmingham to face charges against the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and the Animal Cruelty Act 2006 . Recalling how she found the bird and came to its rescue , Ms Labram said : ' I found the cockerel in such a critical state that it was n't able to stand . 'The bird was horrifyingly dehydrated , emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin from being tied up with nylon bailing twine for some days . ' I was just sickened to see the cockerel stuck desperately in a barbaric situation like this - completely vulnerable , defenceless , and in alien surroundings , just lying there waiting to die either slowly from dehydration or by being eaten by the fox that this trap was clearly set for . ' Nicholas Wells , 37 , of Bedworth , had pleaded not guilty , blaming a burglar for the offence - which was discovered by an RSPCA inspector last June - but was found guilty after an eight-hour trial in Birmingham . Wells admitted owning the trap but said that normally he would use eggs , cat food and dead chickens to catch foxes roaming around the area . He claimed that a burglar had brought the bantam cockerel and had placed it in the trap - but his argument was thrown out by the district judge . The court was told that the cockerel 'was very lucky to have pulled through from a terrible act of cruelty . ' The bird had survived the ordeal and , according to the RSPCA inspector , 'is now living the happy , healthy life that he deserves . ' Wells was found guilty of using a live bird as a decoy for the purpose of killing or taking a wild animal and causing unnecessary suffering to ananimal . He was fined £750 for each offence and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £75 and a contribution towards costs of £2,300 .
it was crushed , emaciated and bruised all the way down to its base . It had been tied up with a bailing twine for hundreds of days , never heard . Nicholas Wells , 37 , had pleaded not guilty , convicted burglar for the offence . But he was found guilty after an eight - hour trial in Birmingham .