Pictou County man gets house arrest, lifetime pet ban for animal cruelty

David Oakley appears in Pictou provincial court on July 25, 2019.

HALIFAX — A 57-year-old Pictou County man has been sentenced for animal cruelty in a widely publicized case from February 2019.

David Oakley of Sylvester, N.S. was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada with killing, maiming, wounding, poisoning, or injuring a dog and willfully causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to a dog, the Nova Scotia SPCA wrote in a news release.

Oakley, who was convicted in Pictou Provincial Court on Monday, was given a lifetime ban on owning animals and a 21-month conditional sentence, of which 12 months will be spent under house arrest.

"Late in the evening of February 14, 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Nova Scotia SPCA received a complaint regarding animal abuse," states the SPCA news release. "SPCA Enforcement Officers and RCMP members responded and found numerous puppies and one adult dog deceased on the property. One dog was found to be in critical distress and as a direct result of their condition, the dog was taken for emergency care. The dog has since made a full recovery and has been adopted. A small dog and guinea pig were also removed from the property and re-homed."