A British crocodile expert has admitted to raping puppies and torturing more than 40 dogs at his Australian animal refuge, including his own pets Ursa and Bolt, after convincing owners to grant him custody of their beloved dogs. He would then post videos of the incidents online, where he also accessed child abuse material.
Adam Britton, 51, a West Yorkshire native who later immigrated to Australia, started his criminal behavior in 2014 and continued torturing and sexually abusing more than 42 canines he had referred to as "f*** toys," until his arrest in April 2022. An Australian court heard Britton filmed himself torturing dozens of dogs until almost all died.
Predator, Not Caregiver
Britton tortured 39 of those dogs to death in an appalling act of animal cruelty that outraged the country. Britton is a professor at Charles Darwin University in northern Australia and even welcomed renowned broadcaster David Attenborough at his home.
The married naturalist spent over ten years abusing his own Swiss shepherd pets, Bolt and Ursa. He finally expanded to Gumtree Australia to find more canines for his vast rural estate at McMinns Lagoon on Australia's northernmost tip.
The court heard that Britton would even record himself torturing the helpless creatures in what he called his "torture room," a shipping container outfitted with recording technology, and then upload the disgusting footage online.
Britton, a prominent zoologist with extensive collaborations with BBC and National Geographic, maintained composure as he entered a guilty plea for 56 counts of animal cruelty at the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.
He also pleaded guilty to four counts of accessing and sharing child abuse material. Sentencing for Britton will take place at a future date.
The nature of Britton's crimes is so disturbing and "grotesque" that Chief Justice Michael Grant took an unusual step during the court proceedings. He encouraged both the public and security personnel to vacate the courtroom before the prosecutors could describe the details of the case.
'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," he said.
Many of the specifics concerning Britton's offenses are exceedingly gruesome and cannot be disclosed or published due to their extremely graphic and distressing nature.
Horrifying and Gruesome
The prosecution testified in court that Britton has had a "sadistic sexual interest" in animals, particularly dogs, since at least 2014.
Britton's wife Erin, a wildlife ranger who helped Prince Harry in catching a saltwater crocodile, reportedly had no idea of her husband's troubling desires. She has since supposedly changed her surname.
The court heard that Britton would use Gumtree Australia to target pet owners in the Darwin area who frequently reluctantly gave their pets away due to work or travel obligations.
In order to negotiate to get custody of the pets, he would build a "rapport" with the unaware owners by setting up notifications on the website for whenever a new dog or puppy was placed for sale nearby, prosecutor Marty Aust said.
When pet owners inquired about their former pets and sought updates from Britton, he would fabricate a "false narrative," assuring them that the animals were in good health and even sending them outdated photos.
In a specific instance, Britton messaged the owners of a sizable brown dog, reassuring them that the pet was "settling in well."
"Wolfe was relaxed and eating well and enjoying her new home," the message wrote.
However, the dog had previously been "sexually exploited, tortured, and killed" without the prior owners' knowledge, Aust said.
Britton, who was born and grew up in West Yorkshire, England, before relocating to Australia 20 years ago, would post videos and pictures of himself abusing the dogs on the Telegram app under the names "Monster" and "Cerberus," which are references to Dante's three-headed dog from Greek mythology that guarded the entrance to hell.
He used one Telegram account to communicate with "like-minded people," according to the prosecution, and another to post videos and photographs of the abuse.
"Using these applications, the offender discussed his 'kill count," Aust said.
His account had 114 postings where he explained how he got the animals, how he mistreated them, and how he got rid of their bodies.
The strategy, according to Britton, virtually never fails. He boasted that he would inform pet owners on Gumtree Australia that his old dog had died of cancer and he wanted a "new family member."
The Northern Territory Animal Welfare Branch eventually received a video, which was then forwarded to the police, who detained Britton in April 2022. 44 goods, including laptops, mobile phones, cameras, external hard drives, tools, guns, sex toys, and dog accessories, were seized by police at the time.
In order to prevent public attention from swaying a jury against him, Britton's name was suppressed by the courts after he was charged last year.
After his Monday guilty plea, the order was lifted. Since then, he has been kept in detention on remand.
