Man who kept 'mini zoo' is jailed

The snake was one of the animals seized and rehomed

A man who kept more than 1,000 exotic animals in "shocking" conditions at his Oldham home, has been jailed.

John Ord Clark had allowed lizards, snakes and tortoises to rot at his property in Dowry Street, Oldham Magistrates' Court was told.

The 52-year-old was found guilty of breaching the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and jailed for three months.

Graham Boundy from Oldham Council said he was shocked by conditions at what was a "badly looked after mini-zoo".

Clark was also been banned from keeping an animal for five years.

Mr Boundy, environmental manager at Oldham Council, said: "We had received allegations that Clark was running a pet shop from the property in July last year.

"When we visited we were shocked by what we found, it was like a badly looked after mini-zoo, the conditions were far from adequate hence the reason for the prosecution.

"The animals which were being made to suffer unnecessarily were seized at the time of the visit have received veterinary care and have been re-homed."