Woman pleads guilty to copying and selling DVDs featuring animal pornography

A Lincolnshire woman who planned to sell DVDs showing bestiality with horses, ponies, dogs, chickens and fish could face a prison sentence.

Police found 1,000 illegal DVDs belonging to Tanya Short which she intended to sell at Hemswell market, near Gainsborough.

Lincoln Magistrates' Court heard yesterday that 30 of those contained images of bestiality.

William Powell, prosecuting, told the court that in interview Short, 30, told police that the 30 films were left over from 80 she had copied.

She pleaded guilty to being in possession of extreme pornographic images with portrayed in an explicit and realistic way, a person performing sexual acts animal.

She also pleaded guilty to a second charge of having obscene articles for publication and gain.

Her solicitor John Bradley said he hoped magistrates would see fit to sentence Short, instead of sending the case to Lincoln Crown Court.

"The more serious of these charges is the one under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 which was decided when values and attitudes were markedly different than they are today, particularly with the advent of technology and the internet," he said.

"One of the earliest prosecutions under this act was the publishers of Lady Chatterley's Lover who were taken to court.

"That act was intended to address large scale enterprises – she is small fry.

"Of the 30 DVDs it has been said that a number of those were duplicates.

"Individuals who come to her stall at Hemswell were asking for it, so she did buy them to copy.

"The point is that this is not a defendant who was peddling this kind of material," he added.

Magistrates said they could not deal with the case and sent it to Lincoln Crown Court for sentencing with a date to be confirmed.

Short, of Middlefield Lane, Gainsborough, was released on unconditional bail.