A badger baiter from South Yorkshire who was caught out by videos found on his phone showing his dogs hunting, fighting and killing wildlife has been jailed for three years.
The RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit, which deals with with serious and organised animal crime, attended the then address of Lewis Wray, on Runnymede Road, Intake, when South Yorkshire Police executed a warrant in December 2024.
The RSPCA has been tipped off by the Naturewatch Foundation with intelligence gathered from social media profiles and posts.
A lurcher and three Patterdale terriers found at the address bore scars from hunting and corresponded with those seen on social media.
Wray initially denied using social media and said he didn’t have a phone but when police called his number it could be heard ringing upstairs and it was soon found and seized.
The phone was analysed and a number of videos were recovered showing Wray’s dogs "hunting, fighting and killing wildlife including foxes and badgers", Inspector Claire Mitchell, from the RSPCA said, in her statement.
At Sheffield Crown Court, Wray, 38, was convicted of offences including causing unnecessary suffering to dogs, docking tails and hunting badgers, sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from keeping animals for life.
Friend and fellow hunter Jake McLay, 30, of Lime Tree Avenue, Armthorpe, was sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for 12 months, for offences including causing unnecessary suffering to dogs and hunting badgers. He was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work, and was banned from keeping all animals for 12 years.
The analysis also uncovered chat messages with individuals involved in the illegal persecution of wildlife prompting a secondary operation by SOU, in which two warrants were executed at addresses in Doncaster, in May 2025 and three dogs were taken into the care of the RSPCA. Messages between Wray and McLay showed that one of the dogs, a lurcher called Reggie, had suffered a “significant” injury underneath his chin which hadn’t been treated but had, instead, been stapled at home.
Inspector Mitchell said: “It was obvious from this chat that the two knew each other very well and were regularly going out hunting wild mammals with dogs. Videos, audio messages and chats were exchanged between the two.”
Sergeant James Shirley from the Motorcycle and Rural Crime team at South Yorkshire Police, said: “People using dogs to hunt and kill wildlife is illegal, cruel and unacceptable.
“The fact that neither Wray or McLay sought treatment for their dogs when they must have been in pain, and suffering is also cruel and shows a distinct lack of care and empathy.
“We are committed to working with partners to ensure anyone who purposefully harms animals or wildlife is put before the courts.”