A former TV personality who’s appeared as an animal expert on series around the globe has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for the torture and killing of dozens of dogs over a span of eight years. U.K. zoologist Adam Britton, now 53, previously pleaded guilty to 56 charges related to animal cruelty and bestiality after his initial arrest in 2022, and also copped to four counts of accessing child abuse materials.
Chief Justice Michael Grant, who presided over the sentencing, did not mince words when speaking about Britton’s crimes, and warned those in the courtroom at the time that the facts of the case would likely cause shock and dismay. For the torture and sexual exploitation of more than 42 dogs on his property — 39 of which were reportedly killed — the Charles Darwin University alum will spend up to ten years and five months behind bars.
As well, Britton will have to wait until September 2028 before he’s eligible for parole, with that six-year hold being backdated to his initial arrest in April 2022. (He pled guilty during his trial in September 2023, according to The Independent.) At whatever point he does get out of prison, Britton has been banned from owning mammal or mammal-type animals (or keeping any on his property) for the rest of his life.
Speaking to Adam Britton’s “grotesque” nature in his actions, Grant said (via The Guardian):
Your motivations were of the basest and most perverse kind … Each instance is an offense with the maximum penalty … I am unable to conceive of anything worse.
According to the BBC, the Chief Justice’s recitation of Adam Britton’s long list of offenses was enough to cause some people present to vacate the courtroom in distress, while others were seen crying in their seats and mouthing insulting sentiments at the former TV personality.
Grant viewed these crimes as being premedited and planned, and voiced the notion that they wouldn't have stopped had Britton not been caught and arrested. Calling Britton out for showing “unalloyed pleasure” in torturing animals, he said:
Society views violence and cruelty to animals as an abhorrent crime towards a powerless and innocent victim. There is legitimate disgust and condemnation. . . . Your depravity falls outside any ordinary human conception.
Since 2000 or so, before his move from the UK to Australia, Adam Britton started appearing on television as a scientific advisor, initially speaking about dinosaurs before later showing off his expertise with crocodiles on episodes of shows such as Nova, Bear Grylls' Man vs. Wild, Nature and the ratings-topping news show 60 Minutes. He even provided crocodile sound effects for an episode of the animated kids show Go, Diego! Go! However, none of the evidence of his animal abuse has involved crocs or any reptilian creatures.
Britton’s offenses go back nearly a decade, though paperwork viewed by the BBC went back just 18 months, yet still contained more than 90 pages. Authorities found a shipping container on his property that was fitted with recording equipment, which he reportedly dubbed his “torture room,” where he would record himself abusing dogs, though not his own pets.
Instead, Britton used aliases on the online marketplace Gumtree Australia to find people who had to get rid of their dogs for personal or professional reasons. It’s said he would become friendly with the owners, and continued to communicate with them with updates after the fact, sending previously captured photos to make it appear as if the animals were still happy and healthy, despite already being killed in several cases.
In anonymous posts that have been attributed to him after the fact, Britton allegedly admitted to sexually abusing horses as a 13-year-old, saying he “repressed” his sadistic actions as a child for a certain period, but that he “let it out again” in the years prior to his arrest. In the same online forums, Britton reportedly coached others on how to dispose of animal carcasses, saying he fed the remains to the crocodiles and other animals on his property.
Though he was careful to not feature any recognizable elements in his torture videos posted online, the video that led to his eventual arrest featured an orange City of Darwin dog leash in the background. The footage, which featured Britton torturing eight different dogs, was sent to Northern Territory police via anonymous tip, and after an investigation, he was identified and arrested.
In court, despite reportedly not showing very much emotion as the Chief Justice read off his list of transgressions, Adam Britton shared the following sentiment:
I deeply regret the pain and trauma that I caused to innocent animals and consequently to my family, friends and members of the community. . . . I will seek long term treatment and... I will find a path towards redemption.
Britton’s legal team attempted to argue that his actions were caused by a rare disorder that causes atypical sexual urges. But while it’s noted that a pair of psychiatrists did find he had a paraphilic disorder, they also ruled that he was fully aware that his actions were cruel and unjust.
