{"id":536181,"date":"2025-10-29T20:51:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/536181\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T20:51:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:51:26","slug":"manchester-councillor-sentenced-for-causing-unnecessary-suffering-to-her-pet-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/536181\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester councillor sentenced for causing ‘unnecessary suffering’ to her pet dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dog, Laney, had to be put to sleep(Image: Manchester City Council)<\/p>\n

A Manchester councillor caused \u2018unnecessary suffering\u2019 to her pet dog before it had to be put to sleep, the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal.<\/p>\n

Zoe Marlow pleaded guilty to one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, her 15-year-old pet dog Laney, while serving as a Green councillor representing part of Wythenshawe<\/a>, on October 16.<\/p>\n

At Manchester Magistrates Court, Coun Marlow was sentenced to a six-month community order, as well as being ordered to pay a fine of \u00a3120 and to undertake five RAR (Rehabilitation Activity Requirements) days.<\/p>\n

Join the Manchester Evening News <\/strong>WhatsApp<\/strong> group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

She was also banned from keeping a dog for a period of five years.<\/p>\n

Coun Marlow, elected to the Woodhouse Park ward just weeks before her conviction in early September, \u2018accepts full responsibility\u2019 for her actions.<\/p>\n

In a statement, she said: \u201cI deeply regret what happened, and I take full responsibility for the mistakes I made during an incredibly difficult period of my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, I have worked hard to turn my life around, dedicating myself to my community and supporting others in hardship. I am grateful that the court recognised the progress I\u2019ve made and allowed me the chance to continue contributing positively to my community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy focus now is looking forward and working to serve the people of Woodhouse Park with honesty, empathy, and determination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manchester council has since clarified Coun Marlow will not be stripped of her seat, as her conviction was a community sentence, rather than a custodial term.<\/p>\n

The law says a councillor is banned from standing or serving if they were sentenced to a prison term of at least three months in the last five years, which Coun Marlow was not.<\/p>\n

The dog, Laney, had to be put to sleep(Image: RSPCA)<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old will also continue sitting as a Green councillor, the LDRS understands. A party source said: \u201cZoe really tried everything to help. Now, she\u2019s a food bank manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is giving back to the community, she\u2019s incredibly busy giving back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cThe Green party stands against animal cruelty and for the welfare of animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court heard the RSPCA visited the 41-year-old\u2019s home on Kinsale Walk in August 2023 after being tipped off about Laney\u2019s condition. The charity said the pet \u2018was severely emaciated, very weak, unable to stand up properly and was falling over due to muscle wastage\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer prominent bones were evident even from a distance,\u201d it added. \u201cIn addition, she had laboured breathing, an ulcerated mass on her left hip, wobbliness and difficulty moving around.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vet who examined Laney estimated her deterioration \u2018likely occurred over a minimum period of two weeks\u2019.<\/p>\n

After the examination, the decision was made to put Laney to sleep to stop her suffering further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dog, Laney, had to be put to sleep(Image: Manchester City Council) A Manchester councillor caused \u2018unnecessary suffering\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,8828,285,16,15,173260,2313],"class_list":{"0":"post-536181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-council","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-woodhouse-park","17":"tag-wythenshawe"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115459437442233150","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}