On 19th January 1942 a Sunderland man was given a two month
jail sentence for wasting food by giving his dinner to the dog. The food
control committee had brought a joint prosecution under wartime regulations.
The other half of the prosecution was brought by the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The court heard how the unemployed man often
returned home to his wife and seven children worse for drink.
On one occasion when his dinner of roast beef and vegetables was placed on the
table he put it on the floor for the dog. At other times he had given the dog
1/4lb of cheese and a full tin of salmon despite the fact the children were
going hungry. The court was told that the accused kept food locked away in a
sideboard and the children were poorly clothed, and had light bedding which was
inadequate for the winter weather. The man was given a further six months
imprisonment for neglecting his children, the two sentences running
concurrently.
