A man who tied up a cockerel in a trap and used it as live bait to lure foxes has been convicted of animal cruelty. The bird was found dehydrated, emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin after being tied up with nylon bailing twine for days. Nicholas Wells, 37, of Bedworth, had pleaded not guilty, blaming a burglar for the offence - which was discovered by RSPCA inspector Louise Labram last June - but was found guilty after an eight-hour trial. A man who tied a cockerel to a trap and used it as live bait to lure foxes has been convicted of cruelty. The bird was found dehydrated, emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin from being tied up . He appeared in court in Birmingham to face charges against the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and the Animal Cruelty Act 2006. Recalling how she found the bird and came to its rescue, Ms Labram said: 'I found the cockerel in such a critical state that it wasn't able to stand. 'The bird was horrifyingly dehydrated, emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin from being tied up with nylon bailing twine for some days. 'I was just sickened to see the cockerel stuck desperately in a barbaric situation like this - completely vulnerable, defenceless, and in alien surroundings, just lying there waiting to die either slowly from dehydration or by being eaten by the fox that this trap was clearly set for.' Nicholas Wells, 37, of Bedworth, had pleaded not guilty, blaming a burglar for the offence - which was discovered by an RSPCA inspector last June - but was found guilty after an eight-hour trial in Birmingham . Wells admitted owning the trap but said that normally he would use eggs, cat food and dead chickens to catch foxes roaming around the area. He claimed that a burglar had brought the bantam cockerel and had placed it in the trap - but his argument was thrown out by the district judge. The court was told that the cockerel 'was very lucky to have pulled through from a terrible act of cruelty.' The bird had survived the ordeal and, according to the RSPCA inspector, 'is now living the happy, healthy life that he deserves.' Wells was found guilty of using a live bird as a decoy for the purpose of killing or taking a wild animal and causing unnecessary suffering to ananimal. He was fined £750 for each offence and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £75 and a contribution towards costs of £2,300.
Bird found dehydrated, emaciated and bruised all the way down to its skin . It had been tied up with nylon bailing twine for  number of days, court heard . Nicholas Wells, 37, had pleaded not guilty, blaming burglar for the offence . But he was found guilty after an eight-hour trial in Birmingham .