A DUBLIN man, banned for life from keeping dogs, has also been ordered by a judge to spend another fortnight in jail.
William Hynes, of Dunsink Avenue, Finglas West, had admitted cruelly neglecting three greyhounds and a terrier.
Judge Liam Devally also ordered Hynes to pay £200 to the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Mynes successfully appealed a £1,000 maximum fine and had a three month prison sentence reduced to a month. His counsel, Mr Cormac Quinn, told the court Hynes had already spent two weeks in prison and Judge Devally ordered he need only spend another fortnight there.
Ms Fiona Kerins, counsel for the DSPCA, described the case as "a very sad one". The court had previously heard a veterinary report of how, forced by starvation, the animals had reverted to jungle conditions of eating one another.
Afterwards it emerged that between legal and veterinary fees the DSPCA spent more than £1,300 on the case.
"We are a voluntary, charitable organisation and depend on contributions from the public for our funding. Taking a case like this is a considerable drain on our finances," DSPCA director Therese Cunningham said last night.