Zoologist who raped and tortured over 40 dogs named 'grotesque and perverse'

TW: mentions of animal sexual abuse

Adam Britton is a British Charles Dawin University academic and zoologist who moved to Australia 20 years ago. There, he became a crocodile specialist. He even hosted legendary biologist broadcaster David Attenborough on his property during the filming of the BAFTA-winning docuseries Life in Cold Blood. The pair were photographed together with Britton’s wife Erin. Erin, a wildlife ranger who once helped Prince Harry catch a crocodile, was unaware of her husband’s actions.

Britton, 51, is now at the centre of a disturbing scandal. He has pleaded guilty to raping puppies and torturing over 40 dogs. He would take videos and images of the abuse in what he called his ‘torture room’. This was a shipping container containing filming equipment, where he would torture the animals - often to death - before posting films and images of the abuse to online forums using fake names. It was through one of these platforms that his abuse was discovered - it was flagged to NT Animal Welfare Branch who passed it on to NT police, leading to Britton’s arrest in April 2022.

Judge dismisses essential workers to spare them ‘grotesque’ details

Yesterday, Monday 25 September, Britton stood calmly in court and pleaded guilty to 56 offences that included sexually abusing dogs and transmitting child abuse material. Before the prosecutor Marty Aust read the details of the charges out loud to the court, he urged the public gallery, security staff and media to leave the room:

These facts contain material that can only be described as grotesque and perverse acts of cruelty which is confronting and distressing and which in my assessment have the potential to cause nervous shock… Either way I’ll leave that up to you, but the potential has been described.

The descriptions of the abuse are too horrific to be published.

Read more:Sir David Attenborough: This is how much money he reportedly earns per minute

Britton convinced pet owners to give him their dogs

The zoologist had been torturing his own dogs, Ursa and Bolt, since 2014. He then started to reach out to pet owners online who where reluctantly giving their dogs away due to work or travel commitments. Aust explained:

[He] often built a rapport with the dog owners in negotiating taking custody of their animals, many of whom had to reluctantly give their pets away due to travel or work commitments.

According to the Mail Online, he would lie to pet owners who asked for an update, sending old photos and reassuring them that their dog was well. In one case, Britton reportedly wrote, ‘Wolfe was relaxed and eating well and enjoying her new home’ to the owner of a dog he had already sexually abused and killed.

Prosecutors told the court that Britton spoke to people with shared interests on a Telegram account. He would share images of the abuse, and discuss his ‘kill count’. In a message read out to the court, Britton told a stranger on the platform:

I had repressed it. In the last few years I let it out again, and now I can't stop. I don't want to.

The case is set to return to court on 13 December for sentencing submissions, The Guardian reports.

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Sources used:

The Guardian:NT crocodile expert who once hosted David Attenborough pleads guilty to animal sexual abuse

Mail Online: Brit crocodile expert Adam Britton, 51, admits raping and torturing dozens of dogs - including his own pets Ursa and Bolt - at his animal shelter in Australia as judge condemns 'grotesque cruelty'