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The feeling of betrayal and the need to get even are inevitable for people who had been cheated on by their partners. One woman in West Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, however, took this idea too far when she exacted revenge by killing her ex-boyfriend鈥檚 pet tropical fish.
Serena Reynoldson, 35, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to protected animals, and was slapped with an 18-week suspended prison sentence by Oxford鈥檚 Magistrates鈥� Court yesterday, Aug. 4, as reported by The Oxford Times on the same day. The mother of five children was also tasked to pay 拢415 (around P28,400) in court costs.
Aside from her sentence and the legal costs she has to pay, she is also banned from keeping fish for life.
Apparently, Reynoldson鈥檚 thirst for revenge stemmed from the abandonment of ex-boyfriend John Fitzpatrick, with whom she has four children, the report said. After being accused of having an affair, Fitzpatrick moved out, leaving Reynoldson to take care of their children, as well as Fitzpatrick鈥檚 pet cat, snake and tropical fish.
Reynoldson poured bottles of thick bleach on the fish tank owned by Fitzpatrick on Jan. 9. She filmed herself and sent the video to her ex-boyfriend via WhatsApp.
鈥淪eeing as it鈥檚 okay for you to have your hobbies but I can鈥檛 have mine, bleach right in there,鈥� said Reynoldson in the video before pouring the entire bottle of bleach into the tank. She was later heard muttering the word 鈥渄ie鈥� repeatedly.
鈥淚f I can鈥檛 have no hobbies or a life you can鈥檛 have them and I鈥檓 not paying for it,鈥� she added. Not long after, she poured a second bottle of bleach when she saw the fish starting to float indicating their death.
Fitzpatrick received the said video, as well as another one of Reynoldson threatening to poison his other pets with rat poison, the report stated. He called the police, who asked the assistance of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to report the incident.
During her interview with the police, Reynoldson asserted she was neither aware of the what the liquid she poured in the tank was, nor of the implications of pouring the chemical.
鈥淚t鈥檚 shocking that the fish were killed during this deliberate vengeful intentional act,鈥� RSPCA inspector Andy Eddy said in the report. 鈥淭here is never an excuse for such heartless and unpleasant behavior, or for showing such a lack of empathy towards any animal by behaving in this way.鈥� Kate Matriano/JB
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