Heartbreaking Video Shows Man Abusing Friend's Bulldog With Plank Of Wood

A man has been banned from keeping dogs for life after he used a plank of wood to batter his friend's bulldog.

Laurence Skelson, 63, used wood, a mop and a shovel to whack and intimidate adorable Boston, whom he was looking after for a friend.

The bulldog was in Skelson's back garden against a back door when he began antagonizing the dog and jabbing him in the neck and face.

A neighbour filmed him carrying out the horrific attack in his back garden in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex.

He was banned from keeping dogs for life and was ordered to pay £300 ($417.39) in costs.

Skelson was fined £120 and he would also have to pay £30 as victim surcharge.

After the abuse was reported, the dog was examined by the RSPCA and a vet and fortunately, it did not suffer any significant injuries.

The dog now remains in the care of his owner, the newspaper reported.

Throughout history, individuals have condemned various practices that they considered to be cruel to animals.

Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci, for example, was troubled by the sight of birds in captivity, and (according to biographer Giorgio Vasari) once purchased caged birds in order to set them free. He also expressed anger within his notebooks with the fact that humans use their strength and power to raise animals for slaughter.

Some philosophers and intellectuals, such as Peter Singer and Tom Regan, have argued that:

"Animals' ability to feel pain as humans do make their well-being worthy of equal consideration."

Watch the horrific footage here: