Declan Baker, 19, had previously been ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work for the act which provoked outrage from the Scottish SPCA.

 

The decision taken yesterday to remove this part of his punishment due to an unnamed debilitating medical condition has been criticised by animal rights campaigners.

 

There were angry scenes at Forfar Sheriff Court when Baker was sentenced for the act in February last year. However his hearing yesterday was a much quieter affair.

 

Baker appeared in the dock with a walking stick as his defence agent Brian Bell outlined the medical reasons that had prevented him from performing the community service work.

 

Mr Bell said: “Medically, Mr Baker is not in a position to carry out the unpaid work element of the sentence imposed on him.

 

“He has a serious condition, a genetic disorder which creates difficulty with his heart, eyes, and in particular for Mr Baker, his legs.

 

“His grandfather died at the age of 30 from a heart condition with this genetic disorder, while his mother also suffers from it.”

 

The accused had previously admitted placing the four-week-old kitten in the oven and switching it on, at his friend’s house in Restenneth Drive, Forfar, on October 17, 2008.

 

The kitten’s injuries were so severe it had to be put down six days later, after a local vet was unable to save it.

 

When he was originally ordered to carry out the community service, ordered to pay £150 in compensation and banned from keeping animals for seven years, Baker, of 69 Pitreuchie Place, Forfar, was escorted from the sheriff court in a police van as abuse and eggs were hurled at him.

 

At the time of the incident, Baker told police the cat had been in the oven for around 10 seconds and expressed regret at what he had done.

 

When Baker was sentenced, senior inspector Mark Lumgair, of the SSPCA, described it as a “horrendous act.”

 

John Robbins, secretary of Animal Concern Advice Line, said after yesterday’s court appearance that he felt there were other options open to the court rather than scrapping part of his sentence.

 

He said: “It seems strange that someone who hasn’t completed community service isn’t given some other form of punishment to make up for that.

 

“This was a particularly shocking and gruesome act, which many people, myself included, felt he should have served prison time for.

 

“If he cannot complete community service for medical reasons then that is understandable, but something else should have been put in place rather than reducing this punishment.”

 

Sheriff Kevin Veal told Baker that he would not be required to complete the community service order.

 

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