by Adam Britton, a famous zoologist, confessed to 60 horrific crimes involving the rape, torture and killing of dogs. The 53-year-old faces a potential sentence of up to 249 years in Australia.
Britain’s leading crocodile expert has admitted the horror and multiple charges of animal sexual abuse filed against him in Australia in September last year.
His case shocked and outraged animal rights activists and the public alike when the details of his disturbing actions came to light.
Britton admitted to an interest in “zoo-sadness” and, in a large number of online messages submitted to the Northern Territory Supreme Court, instructed others on how to carry out similar acts of abuse.
When Britton appeared for sentencing submissions recently, the court was told about the psychiatric condition known as paraphilia.
Who is Adam Britton?
Born Adam Robert Corden Britton in 1972, he graduated from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in 1987 and gained an Honors degree in Zoology from the University of Leeds in 1992.
Britton completed his PhD in Zoology from the University of Bristol in 1996.
He moved to Australia the same year and met his future wife, Erin, a wildlife ranger and biologist. The couple set up a consultancy focusing on wild crocodiles.
Britton gained international recognition as a crocodile expert and collaborated with notables such as David Attenborough. He has contributed to various documentaries and educational programs for the BBC and National Geographic.
He was a research associate at Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia, and was featured on the Discovery Channel program “Animal Face-Off”, further cementing his reputation as a leading authority on crocodiles.
His career became overshadowed by his criminal activities after he admitted to a series of charges of rape, torture and killing dogs, which he used to carry out inside a shipping container known as the “torture chamber”.
What are the charges against him?
An Australian court has been told Britton took advantage of finding rescue dogs on online classifieds website Gumtree Australia, offering to rehome them at his sprawling property near Darwin.
It is said that he would film himself torturing the animals and post the videos on online platforms using the names “Monster” and “Cerberus”. He allegedly had access to child abuse material on these platforms.
39 dogs were killed because of his disturbing actions.
He also pleaded guilty to four counts of receiving and transmitting child abuse material.
“I was talking to someone else about why I love hurting dogs,” he wrote in a secret chat group. “I wasn’t sure at first, but now I live. I can’t stop myself from hurting dogs.”
“I was sad as a child to animals, but I was oppressed. In the last few years I let it go again, and now I can’t stop. I do not want to.”
He laughed.
Australian authorities were tipped off by an anonymous person about Britton’s activities. They then launched “Operation Haine”, which resulted in a search warrant for the McMinns Lagoon home of Britton on the outskirts of Darwin. During their investigation, law enforcement discovered disturbing footage of Britton’s shooting exposing his acts of animal cruelty.
He was arrested in April 2022.
Britton’s lawyer – who sought to remain anonymous because of threats to suppress Britton – recently posted a fresh report on the zoologist’s “paraphilia”. It is a psychological term to describe a condition characterized by intense sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors related to atypical objects, situations, or individuals.
What happened at the latest hearing?
At Thursday’s hearing, Britton’s lawyer told the court about his “paraphilia” for which court was adjourned.
Before the hearing began, Northern Territory Supreme Court judge Michael Grant asked his staff and animal rights activists to leave the room because of the grotesque nature of Britton’s actions.
“This is someone who has been affected by a condition from early childhood,” Britton’s lawyer said. “It’s not his fault he has that.”
“This particular condition is exceptionally taboo in most societies and the court can, and I hope she would accept it, that is a very difficult thing to grow up with and learn to deal with when grown up.”
However, the lead prosecutor, Marty Aust, said that Britton had “decidedly enjoyed” his sexual interest in animals.
“There was considerable planning in that it was a modest production, with multiple cameras, tripods, different recording equipment, production values, editing,” he told the court.
“If you watch that film you will see the pleasure and enjoyment this man had in creating this and doing these actions. His heart is full of joy… it’s hard to read, it’s hard to hear but to see it, it’s really something else.”
Mr Aust said that “like any other person with a particular sexual interest” Britton was “capable of rationally deciding whether to act on that interest”.
“He has done that and then, with the incitement and encouragement of like-minded people, he has done evil in a way that is indescribable in terms of his remarkable voluptuousness,” he said.
Mr Aust said that even if Britton’s condition could be treated, “there is a constant risk of it happening again”.
In a hearing earlier this year, Judge Grant questioned whether any psychiatric evidence could reduce Britton’s moral responsibility for his actions.
“A serial killer cannot say, for example, ‘My moral culpability is reduced because I suffer from psychopathy’,” he said in February. “I can’t see where the evidence is going here.”
British crocodile expert, Zoologist Adam Britton @adambriton facing 249 years in prison for rape, killing over 60 dogs.
He was diagnosed with a condition called paraphilia which is characterized by abnormal sexual desires, associated with extreme or dangerous activities. Illness! pic.twitter.com/8VMQRghWFp— Kaveri 🇮🇳 (@ikaveri) July 15, 2024
Answer to the charges against Britton
Britton’s sentencing was delayed for the third time after his lawyer submitted a fresh report to the judge. He will be back in court next month.
Former Northern Territory solicitor Ross Bohlin said the delayed sentencing was an “abuse of the judicial process”.
“It would be nice to think that today has put an end to this psychopathic level of abuse. Unfortunately, the postponement will only add to the pain,” he said.
Protesting outside the courthouse recently, animal rights activists displayed signs demanding justice, including calls for the death penalty and “justice for the innocent victims of Adam Britton”.
“He needs to be punished so that people don’t think that animals are something that can be exploited and abused,” said one protester.
They understood that the death penalty “isn’t going to happen”, the protester told the ABC, “but my personal choice would be in prison forever”.
