Adam Robert Corden Britton (born ) is a British-born Australian former

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

who gained worldwide infamy when he was convicted on multiple criminal offenses including

animal abuse Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffe ...

zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia in which a person experiences a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality instead refers to cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. Due to the lack of research on the subject, it is ...

zoosadism Zoosadism is sexual pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. It is a paraphilia, where people are sexually aroused by torturing animals. Zoosadism is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that have been considered a precursor t ...

, bestiality, and possession of

child sexual abuse material Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is erotic material that ...

. In September 2023, he was charged with 56 counts related to the

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

, and killing of dogs, along with possession of the worst category of child exploitation material. Britton pleaded guilty to all charges in August 2024 with a sentence of 10 years and 5 months in prison. The investigation into his crimes also facilitated the prosecution and conviction of other animal sadists within his global network. Through this case, authorities were able to uncover a broader network of individuals involved in similar offenses, leading to further arrests and convictions in other countries.

Early life and education

Britton was born around 1971 in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield and studied

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

where he graduated with a BSc in 1992. He subsequently gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in zoology from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1996. Court documents state that he had concealed a "sadistic sexual interest" in animals since he was a child and began molesting horses at the age of 13.

Crocodile expert

He moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1996, where he met his future wife, who was a wildlife ranger and biologist. They set up a consultancy, dealing with wild crocodiles. Britton, who was considered a crocodile expert, presented a programme on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, and alongside his wife once worked with the biologist

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

. Britton was also employed as a research associate at

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...

Criminal history

Britton started offending in 2014 and was arrested in September 2022. There was a

suppression order A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed on to any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...

on his name until he pleaded guilty in September 2023. He had searched for dogs on the website Gumtree Australia, claiming to rehome them, and telling their former owners that they were thriving in his care, when in fact he had already sexually abused, tortured, and killed them. He is known to have sexually abused 42 dogs, 39 of which died. , Britton faced 60 charges which related to using

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

material as well as bestiality, to which he had pleaded guilty. Sentencing was scheduled for December 2023, but was postponed to February 2024 and subsequently postponed again to May 2024. In May 2024, sentencing was postponed for a third time due to the presiding judge's scheduling conflicts for 11 July 2024. His sentencing was postponed once more until 8 August 2024. Britton was finally sentenced in Darwin on 8 August 2024 to ten years and five months in prison, with a non-parole period of six years. His sentence was backdated to his arrest in April 2022. He was also banned for life from purchasing animals and having them on his property. Judge Grant stated that his conduct "… involved a degree of depravity and reprehensibility which falls entirely outside any ordinary human conception and comprehension." Britton stated in a letter written in prison and read by his lawyer that he was "truly sorry" and would seek "long-term care." Judge Grant was not satisfied that Britton showed any true remorse, stating "I also have no doubt that you would have continued with this conduct had you not been arrested by police."

Emma Hurst Emma Christine Hurst (born 25 March 1981) is an Australian politician, psychologist and vegan bodybuilder. She was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Animal Justice Party at the 2019 state election. Hurst became ...

, from the

Animal Justice Party The Animal Justice Party (AJP) is a political party in Australia founded in 2009 by Steve Garlick. The party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 3 May 2011. The party is also registered in New South Wales, Queenslan ...

, described the sentence as "pathetically weak" and stated that, "When someone tortures, rapes and kills animals in a such a sadistic way, they should be punished accordingly." In 2022, legislation was introduced in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

that increased penalties for animal cruelty, including increasing the maximum for aggravated cruelty against animals to five years' imprisonment. However, his crimes took place before commencement of that legislation, when the maximum penalty was two years.

Personal life

Britton had been married to his wife since 1997. She resorted to

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

following his conviction.

References

External links

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crocodilian.com
Britton's website (on the Internet Archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Adam 1970s births Living people People from Wakefield People from West Yorkshire People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Bristol English emigrants to Australia People from Darwin, Northern Territory Academic staff of Charles Darwin University English zoologists 21st-century British zoologists British herpetologists Animal cruelty incidents People convicted of cruelty to animals Zoosadism English people convicted of child pornography offences Prisoners and detainees of the Northern Territory British people imprisoned abroad