Doing bird!
Budgies and even guinea pigs are sharing cells with criminals at some of our toughest jails
INMATES at some of Britain’s toughest prisons are allowed to keep pets.
Official figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that 27 animals are being kept by prisoners at three maximum security jails.
Most of the pets are budgies but two guinea pigs are also behind bars.
The jail with the most pets is Maghaberry Prison in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, where inmates keep 18 budgies. Maghaberry is a high-security jail where prisoners have clashed with wardens. Former inmates include Grangemouth-born serial killer and paedophile Robert Black, and Ulster loyalist murderer Michael Stone.
Nick Hardwick, chief inspector of prisons, described the jail as ‘one of the worst prisons I’ve ever seen and the most dangerous prison I’ve been to’. Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire has seven budgies. The Category A prison houses some of the most high profile and dangerous offenders, including rapists and murderers.
Serial killer Dr Harold Shipman was held at Wakefield – known as the ‘Monster Mansion’ – before committing suicide in his cell.
Inmates at Cornton Vale prison, Stirling, have two guinea pigs. The women’s prison has been criticised for its overcrowding and ‘miserable’ conditions.
The keeping of pets in tough prisons has echoes of the 1962 film Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster. It was a largely fictionalised account of the life of Robert Stroud, a murderer and rebellious prisoner kept in solitary confinement.
To break the monotony, he adopts an orphaned sparrow as a pet. He is allowed to build up a collection of birds, becomes an expert on bird diseases and even publishes a book on the subject.
Nowadays in the US, prisoners are allowed
‘Prisoner rioted after his pet hamster died’
to keep more high maintenance pets. Inmates often take in rescue dogs and then train them to sit, stay and roll over.
The revelation about prison pets comes amid growing concern about the cushy state of some of Britain’s jails and a lack of control, with numerous riots breaking out last year.
Inmates at lower security prisons are also allowed to keep pets as part of the incentives and earned privileges scheme if they have behaved well and the governor agrees.
In April 2015, four prisoners including one who was upset over the death of his pet hamster started a riot at Stocken jail in Rutland. They wrecked their cells and smashed furniture and light fittings, causing £12,000 worth of damage at the Category C jail.
Garth prison in Lancashire – a Category B jail – allowed inmates to run a budgie breeding programme for several years. But a new governor decreed that it had to stop.
The privileges scheme was tightened up under Chris Grayling, the former justice secretary. The new rules mean that new animals can no longer be brought in by inmates but prisoners are allowed to keep existing pets until they die.