6 News


THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017


Follow us on Twitter @ceredigherald


Cruely treated dogs were AN UNLICENSED dog


breeder was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to 21 dogs at a trial in Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court this week. Richard Jones was described by


the prosecution as treating the dogs in his care as ‘a licence to print money’. The court heard that some dogs


were found in complete darkness, with one puppy so weakened that it had lost the ability to feed, while 19 of the 21 dogs were suffering from a chronic unidentified skin condition. Bags filled with liquefying dog carcasses were also found in one of the buildings. Jones, 31, was accused of causing


unnecessary suffering to 21 protected animals by failing to act, knowing that this failure would have that effect. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He also pleaded not guilty to two charges of running an unlicensed dog breeding business, at Y Shed, Gelligwenyn, and Moelfre, near Lampeter. Prosecuting on behalf of


Ceredigion County Council, Maggie Hughes explained that Jones had been granted a dog breeding licence in 2010 by Ceredigion County Council, but in 2015 the local authority decided not to renew the licence, which would have been for 70 dogs and 40 litters of puppies per year. No licence had been held or applied


for with regard to Moelfre at any point, and no application was made regarding Y Shed in 2016. On June 7 last year, council officers


and police executed a search warrant at both premises. 57 dogs were found in Y Shed, and 56 at Moelfre, the latter including 38 puppies. Items described as ‘compatible with breeding’, including a pack of microchips, and letters ‘indicating breeding was taking place’ were also found. “The expert will tell you


categorically that these dogs were suffering, mostly from various skin conditions,” Ms Hughes told the Bench. At an interview, Jones provided a


prepared statement in which he denied any wrongdoing. The statement also


said that since the loss of his licence, he had stopped breeding animals at Y Shed, but kept the dogs because he was unable to re-home them. He added that some of the dogs at


Moelfre were the property of family members, although it had not been alleged previously that they belonged to anyone else. Jones also claimed that the dogs’


skin issues were in the process of being addressed, and claimed that the complete darkness it was alleged some of the dogs were kept in was the result of officers failing to find a light switch.


EXPERT WITNESS Dr John O’Connor, the official


veterinary surgeon for Ceredigion County Council, had been called to Y Shed and Moelfre by council officers on the day the warrant was carried out. He gave a detailed description of the


physical condition of each of the dogs involved, using photographs taken on the day to illustrate points, and graded them on their physical condition on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being at the point of death through being too thin and 5 at the point of death through obesity. A black Scottish terrier was


described as ‘having a severe skin condition, which had been present for weeks or months’. Dr O’Connor told the court that the dog’s backbone was clearly visible through the skin, and its physical condition was graded at 1/5. The dog had clearly been


scratching and biting herself, and the photographs taken showed crusting of the skin, caused by the skin condition and exacerbated by the scratching and biting. A male wheaten Scottish terrier


was found to be in a similar condition, with damage and swelling to the tip of the left ear which could potentially have led to gangrene. Other dogs in Y Shed were also


suffering in the same way, although some appeared to have contracted the condition at a later stage. One rottweiler, which showed no signs of the skin condition, was


demonstrating stereotypical behaviour of mental distress, including running around the outside of its pen, which Dr O’Connor said was consistent with stress caused by lack of eye contact with other dogs and exercise. Some effort had been made to treat


the dogs, he acknowledged, because they were scratching far less than had evidently previously been the case and empty packets of prescription medication were found, but there was no indication of how recently this had begun. “These dogs all underwent


unnecessary suffering for a considerable period of time,” Dr O’Connor remarked, suggesting that treatment only began when the number of dogs affected passed a critical point. He also suggested that they would not have undergone this had the correct advice and treatment been sought at an early stage. He added that a number of the


56 dogs in Y Shed had their water contaminated with faeces, and some did not have beds, and there was a lot of excrement on the floor of many of the pens. In one of the buildings at Moelfre,


Dr O’Connor said that there was no light apart from infra-red heaters in some pens, and that it was so dark, ‘even with two hand lights it was hard to see’. In response to a question, he told


the court that he had searched for a light switch, but had been unable to find any evidence of lighting. One puppy, in a pen with its mother


and another pup, was ‘extremely thin and at the point of death’. Dr O’Connor added that he had


tried to place the puppy near its mother to feed, but it had lost its suck reflex, and fell over. Another Scottish terrier with a


chronic skin condition had no bed, and was sleeping on the floor on shredded newspaper contaminated with faeces, and one bijon frise with a chronic skin condition also had badly overgrown toenails, indicating a lack of care. Jones was not present at either of


Animal Welfare Act 2006, Section 4 - Unnecessary suffering


(1) A person commits an offence if — (a) an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer, (b) he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so, (c) the animal is a protected animal, and (d) the suffering is unnecessary.


Illegal dog breeding establishment: Shed, Gelligwenyn, Creuddyn Bridge


the premises while the warrant was being served. Dr O’Connor and council officers


then served an improvement order, which specified that certain dogs had to be taken for treatment immediately, while others needed to be taken to the vet within 48 hours. This was because it was impractical to transport such a large number of dogs at once. Representing Jones on the


instruction of Aled Owen, Matthew Paul suggested that skin conditions were frequently hard to diagnose. “It is easy if you carry out the


correct diagnostic tests,” Dr O’Connor replied. Mr Paul suggested that Jones had


initially tried to treat the dogs for fleas when they were suffering from mange. “If you treated as a flea infestation rather than sarcoptic mange, it could get out of control very quickly,” he asked. “Only if they are in contact,


otherwise it would take time to spread,” Dr O’Connor answered. He added that an owner who


suspected that the treatment wasn’t working should go back to the vet within a few days, and pointed out that he had made no firm diagnosis of the dogs’ condition during the course of his visit. Mr Paul also claimed that there had


been lighting in the shed at Moelfre, and added that given that in winter it was dark between 4.30pm and 8am, darkness itself did not harm dogs.


PROSECUTION WITNESSES Animal Welfare Officer Andrew


Phillips told the court that the exercise yards at Y Shed showed no signs of being recently used. Licensing officer Alfor Evans said


that after entry to Y Shed had been forced, they found a food preparation room inside, containing liquefying dog carcasses in plastic bags. “I was immediately struck by a


smell of decay and death. There were dead flies on the floor, near three plastic bags,” he said. “I opened a bag and was struck by


the stench of what was inside.” The bags contained animals in such an advanced stage of decay that they were assumed to be dogs because those were the only animals kept on the premises. The court heard from other officers


that items connected to dog breeding, including a list referring to 4,000 dogs, a letter with the words ‘bring her back for full refund - £140’ written on it, and an invoice for the sale of a female schnauzer for £300, were evident. Mr Paul asked Commercial


Bichon Frise puppy at Moelfre Llanwnnen: Caused unnecessary suffering because of advanced chronic skin condition and also exhibited a lack of care and grooming


Bichon Frise female at Shed, Gelligwenyn: She had advanced cataracts and her right ear flap appeared to be exhibiting the early signs of gangrene, caused by long-standing inflammation and swelling


Services Manager Carwen Evans whether Jones’ application for a licence had been affected by new legislation stating that the kennels should be within 500m of a dwelling. Ms Evans replied that this post- dated Jones’ original application,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48