Renowned British zoologist Adam Britton admitted on Monday to raping and torturing more than 40 dogs, including his two pet White Swiss Shepherd dogs. He pleaded guilty to 56 charges of bestiality that included sexual exploitation, rape and killing of dogs.
Britton, a former senior researcher at Charles Darwin University in northern Australia, also admitted to four charges related to accessing and distributing child abuse material. He even sexually abused his dogs Ursa and Bolt for more than 10 years.
Bolt and Ursa | Instagram
Targeted unsuspecting pet owners
Apart from abusing his dogs, Britton also targeted unsuspecting pet owners in the Darwin region. "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," prosecutor Marty Aust told the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory while reading out the charges against him.
When they asked him about the health of their former pets, Britton would lie to them that the animals were in good health. To assure them that animals were okay, he would send them old photos of the pets.
Bolt | Instagram
'Now I can't stop. I don't want to.'
The prosecution told the court that Britton had a "sadistic sexual interest" in animals, mainly dogs, since at least 2014. According to reports, the 51-year-old made videos of himself sexually abusing and torturing the dogs. He would eventually upload those videos on Telegram under pseudonyms and discuss his “kill count”.
“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,” Britton had told an anonymous Telegram user, according to news.com.au.
Britton's sexual exploitation and torture killed 39 dogs.
Adam Britton | X
Relocated to Australia from Britain 20 years ago
Britton was born and raised in West Yorkshire, England; and moved to Australia 20 years. He was also worked on BBC and National Geographic productions; and also hosted Sir David Attenborough who filmed a docuseries on Britton's property.
Britton was detained in April 2022 by the police after the Northern Territory Animal Welfare Branch shared a one of his videos. They seized 44 items, including laptops, mobile phones, cameras, external hard drives, tools, guns, sex toys, and dog accessories at the time.
After being charged in 2022, Britton's identity in the matter was not made public to prevent public attention from swaying a jury against him.
