A prominent British crocodile expert has pleaded guilty to bestiality charges including the torture, rape and killing of pet dogs.
Adam Robert Corden Britton, 51, pleaded guilty in an Australian court to torturing and sexually exploiting more than 42 dogs from 2014 until his arrest in April 2022.
The BBC has reported that an Australian court heard Adam Britton filmed himself torturing dozens of dogs until almost all died.
He would then post videos of the incidents online, where he also accessed child abuse material.
The facts of the charges were so grim that NT Chief Justice Michael Grant urged the public gallery and media to leave the court before they were read out, according to reports. He said they “could only be described as grotesque cruelty” and could cause “nervous shock.” Mr Grant continued: “Either way I’ll leave that up to you, but the potential has been described.”
Prosecutors told the court Britton carried out the abuse in a shipping container on his property with filming equipment.
Internet chat messages sent by Britton detailed what he did. His crimes were discovered as he shared images and videos of himself sexually exploiting the dogs on online forums using pseudonyms.
His account on the messaging app Telegram, which he used to have conversations with “like-minded” people, contained 114 chat threads.
The 51-year-old worked on BBC and National Geographic productions and hosted legendary nature broadcaster Sir David on his property for part of the filming of Life in Cold Blood.
He lives in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, but was born in West Yorkshire and studied zoology at the University of Leeds before studying for a PhD in biological science at the University of Bristol, his Facebook page says.
