Woman convicted of cruelty receives increased ban
On Thursday 8th September 2016, the woman convicted of cruelty towards two Irish Wolfhounds in August 2015, was again in court.
The RSPCA brought a further prosecution against her for breaching her 5 year ban on keeping dogs. She was also accused of the neglect of three rabbits, found in a shed. The rabbits, along with 22 dogs and puppies – mostly Irish Wolfhounds and Newfoundlands - were removed from her property in November 2015.
This was three months after the hearing at which she was banned from keeping dogs, when she claimed to have only 9 dogs on her property.
Great Yarmouth Magistrates handed her a 6 week suspended prison sentence and increased the ban to 10 years. This time she has been banned from keeping ALL animals. She was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs.
The Chairman of the bench told the defendant: “We don’t find you a credible witness in any way.” This comment reflects the fact that this woman was demonstrated to have used a number of false names and contact details, in order to conceal her true identity, thus misleading breeders into continuing to sell puppies to her.
She is known to have bought dogs from Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy and Russia, as well as the UK. Breeders are warned to be vigilant when selling puppies and always to ask someone reliable to carry out home-checks on potential buyers.
The RSPCA officer who co-ordinated the case said he would be “keen to hear” from anyone who, in the future, thinks the defendant might be breaking her order. Anyone with information should call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 and also complete the “Contact Us” form to give further details