A man from Ditton, Aylesford, Kent, has been sentenced to a lifetime ban from keeping animals and a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to Animal Welfare Act offences relating to eight dogs and puppies.
In an RSPCA prosecution, them man was found to have caused unnecessary suffering to an emaciated lurcher as well as failing to meet the needs of five dogs and three puppies, who were kept in kennels and a shed in the rear garden of his property. The five adult dogs and three Cavapoo-type puppies, believed to be about eight weeks old, were found living in unsanitary conditions.
As well as the disqualification from keeping animals, he was also sentenced to 160 days’ imprisonment, suspended for two years; three hundred hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £800 costs and a £128 victims surcharge. He must also attend fifteen hours of RAR (rehabilitation activity requirement).
Commenting after the sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Grace Harris-Bridge said, “This man’s five adult dogs and three puppies were living in dangerous, filthy and smelly conditions. Dog faeces had built up in the kennels, and there was no visible food or water in some of them and smashed glass in an outbuilding where a lurcher was kept.
“The pens housing the puppies were dark, dirty and smelly and had loose electric wires hanging from the ceiling along with torn plastic sheeting. There were bowls of food but no water. The entrance corridor to the pens was wet with urine. The door to the puppy pen had also been screwed shut so the only way of accessing the pen was to use a screwdriver or climb over the door.”
A local vet certified that all eight dogs should be removed on welfare grounds. All the animals were confiscated and they were later signed over to the RSPCA.