A crocodile expert who raped, tortured and murdered dozens of pet dogs has two mystery supporters who frequently visit him in jail.
Adam Britton, 53, pleaded guilty in Darwin’s Supreme Court last year to 63 charges relating to animal abuse, bestiality, and for the possession of child exploitation material.
The once-respected academic, who was born in the UK and has worked for the BBC and National Geographic, sourced about 42 dogs on Gumtree over a two-year period for the sole purpose of torturing the animals to death on camera.
He would contact families who reluctantly gave their dogs up due to work or health issues, and would then send false updates to reassure the former owners their pets were ‘happy’ and ‘doing well’.
According to court documents, the pets were usually dead by the time these updates were sent. Most of the dogs he acquired were horrifically abused and murdered within a few days of him gaining ownership.
Last week, Britton shed a tear when his psychiatric condition ‘paraphelia’ – intense sexual fantasies or behaviors that involve inanimate objects, children, or nonconsenting adults – was mentioned in court.
A security guard handed him a box of tissues.
Most former associates, and his ex-wife Erin who formally dropped his surname just two months after his arrest in 2022, have cut ties with the disgraced zoologist – but it can now be revealed there are a few exceptions.
A man and a woman have been known to visit Britton in his cell at Darwin Correctional Centre.
Daily Mail understands they have known Britton for a long time and believe he can be rehabilitated.
In court last week, his barrister – who asked not to be named due to ongoing abuse and threats from members of the public – said her client was ‘no psychopath’ and had previously demonstrated an ability to control his urges.
Telegram messages from Britton’s phone, previously revealed by Daily Mail , show he had ‘sadistic’ urges from childhood but repressed them until about 2020 when he realised he liked torturing and killing dogs.
His barrister said: ‘If he’s been able to control it in the past, he will be able to control it in the future.
‘This is a human being who has been afflicted since very early childhood … it is not his fault that he had that.
‘This particular condition is exceptionally taboo in most societies and the court can, and I hope would, accept that it would have been a very difficult thing to grow up with and learn to manage into adulthood.’
She acknowledged that Britton could have sought treatment for his condition, rather than carrying out his fantasies, but he had successfully ‘put it in a little box’ in the back of his head and tried not to think about it for many years.
The court also heard Britton had spent almost 30 hours with a psychologist in jail and he had come to feel remorse for his crimes.
‘Remorse is considered evidence of rehabilitative prospects, as is insight,’ his lawyer said.
‘Those are things that may not be present the first time that someone speaks to someone in a professional capacity.
‘They are things that often evolve with treatment. They’re not fixed in stone.’
However, Crown Prosecutor Marty Aust said videos of Britton abusing dogs were of particular concern because they showed the ‘entrenched enjoyment’ he derived from the act.
‘If you watch the footage, you will see the extreme pleasure and enjoyment that this man had in creating this and doing these acts,’ he said.
‘His sheer delight goes to the core of it.
‘It’s difficult to read, it’s difficult to hear, but to see it really is something other.’
He said Britton’s routine animal abuse required ‘significant planning’ and became a ‘production, with multiple cameras, tripods, various recording equipment, production values and editing’.
Mr Aust called for the maximum penalty, which is two years in jail for each offence involving torture and death.
‘We’re certainly not asking for 78 years, but really two years for each of those offences is just,’ he told the court.
The matter was adjourned pending a psychiatric report and will return to court on August 8.
Britton grew up in England and received his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Bristol before moving to after 1996 to pursue his fascination with crocodiles.
He met his future wife and they set up a consultancy company, Big Gecko, which sold footage of crocodiles to television and film directors. They worked with natural history shows with the BBC and National Geographic.
Their saltwater crocodile, Smaug, became something of a celebrity in his field and appeared in two horror films.
Britton and Erin also hosted Sir David Attenborough while he was filming the BBC’s Life in Cold Blood docuseries.
She was a biologist and wildlife ranger who has assisted in a range of projects on sea turtles and counting crocodiles.
They were married for about 15 years, but she was often away for work and there is no suggestion that she knew about his dark secret.