Hotel chef admits killing feral cat

A former chef at a Snowdonia beauty-spot hotel has admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a feral cat which was allegedly put in a bag and hit with a piece of wood.

Sentencing of Dylan Marcus Edwards, 50, was adjourned until 31 May for a probation service report. Magistrates at Llandudno told him it would include "all options".

Prosecuting solicitor Tudur Owen, for the RSPCA, said the case involved the head chef and death of a cat in the kitchen at the Royal Oak hotel in Betws-y-Coed last December.

After the guilty plea, Owen said he wished to review the position and advise the RSPCA about whether to proceed against Lyndon Marshall, 36, who denied the animal welfare allegation.

Management of the 27-bedroom, three-AA-starred hotel had claimed the cat was "humanely euthanised" to protect the "health and well-being of others".

But there had been a furious social media backlash following the death of the kitten, named Cali by a neighbour who said she cared for the animal.

Following this Glenn Evans, owner of the Royal Oak, said: "We are sorry for what has happened and embarrassed that we didn't deal with the situation as quickly as we should have.

"We didn't in any way condone what had occurred but were waiting for the RSPCA to get back to us and, in hindsight, we should have dealt with the two individuals concerned in the incident who have now been dismissed."

The hotel's Llugwy River Restaurant holds one AA rosette.

Hotel staff sacked over cat killing >>

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