Sick badger baiter Conran Connor was sentenced to 21 weeks in jail earlier this year after an investigation by the Scottish SPCA. Connor admitted keeping dogs for fighting, causing them to fight badgers and asking another man to film the gruesome activity. We covered his case here. Jailing him, Sheriff Mhairi Mactaggart told Connor: “These offences are, on any objective view, cruel and barbaric in the extreme.” He was freed on bail immediately pending his appeal against the prison sentence. But now the Sheriff Appeal Court in Edinburgh has overturned that sentence and ordered Connor, 21, of Wishaw, Lanarkshire, to do 130 hours of unpaid community work instead. An undercover Scottish SPCA inspector said: “We are disappointed Connor Conran’s custodial sentence has been revoked. It was one of the most harrowing cases of animal cruelty our team has dealt with.’

We agree that the overturn of the sentence in this specific case is disappointing but it also flags up a more important point. We accept that in a democracy the judiciary should be independent of the executive but it is crucial that the executive give the judiciary the tools and the means to enforce the law that has been enacted. Much attention has been paid to the recent increase of sentencing powers for wildlife crimes in Scotland. Increases in sentencing powers can only be beneficial if they are used and on present evidence that seems unlikely. We will watch with interest to see what recommendations the Scottish Sentencing Council’s Environmental and wildlife crime committee come up with.