Lower Sackville man's jail time for animal cruelty 1st in Nova Scotia, says SPCA

A Lower Sackville man who pleadedto keeping 19 cats in "quite horrific" conditions is going to jail for 30 days.

Michael Cairns is the first person in the province to be jailed for animal cruelty, said Nova Scotia SPCA investigatorJo-Anne Landsburg.

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It's the man's second conviction for animal cruelty. In 2013, he received 18 months probationduring which he was prohibitedfrom owning animals. He was alsoordered to pay $1,663 in restitution to the SPCA, which was never received.

'Horrific' conditions

"I would say that added to it [severity of the sentence].It was an extreme situation," Landsburg said.

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"The conditions were quite horrific. The ammonia smell was extreme, there was feces everywhere, there was no clean area whatsoever in the apartment. The cats were hiding in cupboards, in drawers, closets. There was no food or water present when we were there."

The SPCAsaidgot a complaint about a terrible smell coming from Cairn's apartment on Dec. 11, 2014. Officers went to the residence Dec. 18andremovedthe animals. Nine had to be euthanized.

Lifetime ban

Landsburg said the rest have had veterinariancare and been adopted.

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Cairns also banned for life from owning any animals and prohibited from residing in a home where animals reside. He'll be onprobation for 12 months after his release and must pay$2,000 restitution to the Nova Scotia SPCA.