Members of a puppy farming gang have been jailed after pocketing greater than £500,000 from promoting sick and dying dogs to unsuspecting prospects.
Wally David Beaney, Louise Smith, Maria Smith and Charlotte Lauren Byron had been all handed jail sentences for duping the general public and exhibiting ‘cruelty and neglectful behaviour’ that led to deaths of a number of dogs.
A fifth member of the gang, Debbie Lorraine Lampard, was given a conditional discharge after admitting one cost.
The gang ‘reaped considerable financial benefit by repeatedly breeding dogs, all the while failing to provide appropriate medical care’.
A joint police and RSPCA probed was launched after individuals who bought the sick dogs raised the alarm.
Some of the puppies had been poorly with parvo virus – a extremely contagious and sometimes deadly sickness – and had died inside days of being taken to their new home.
Three raids had been then carried out at properties in Kent in September 2021, the place greater than 30 dogs had been present in horrible situations.
A vet described the puppies’ dwelling situations as ‘dark and smelly’, with three puppies requiring ‘urgent’ veterinary consideration.
Many grownup dogs had been additionally discovered within the backyard of the raided properties – together with two pregnant dogs who had been riddled with parasites and dental points.
Phones containing enquiries from folks about buying the puppies had been additionally seized in the course of the search.
RSPCA inspector Vikki Dawe mentioned: ‘These dogs were all being kept in horrible conditions with very poor care which did not remotely reflect the expectations of buyers who saw the adverts placed for them.’
Woolwich Crown Court heard that, in a single occasion, three Golden Retriever puppies, all bought from Byron’s deal with in Kent in July 2021, died inside 4 days of being bought.
A vet who examined the case mentioned in an announcement: ‘This suggests that the seller knew a litter mate was sick at the time of their sale.
‘Yet the other puppy purchasers were not notified, either at purchase that a litter mate was unwell or that a litter mate became unwell.
‘It is my opinion that the seller failed to protect the three pups discussed in this report by not sharing with the new owners that he had detected signs of disease in another litter mate.’
All 5 defendants had been sentenced on January 25.
Beaney, 39, of Meopham, Kent, was sentenced to 4 and a half years quick custody and a ten year-ban on conserving dogs.
He pleaded responsible to 4 offences below the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in addition to one cost of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Louise Smith, 63, additionally from Meopham, was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months custody, and banned from conserving dogs for 5 years after pleading responsible to at least one offence below Animal Welfare Act 2006 and one cost of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Maria Smith, 35, of Meopham, was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months custody, and disqualified from conserving dogs for 5 years as she pleaded responsible to 2 offences below Animal Welfare Act 2006, and a cost of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Byron, 36, of Meopham, was sentenced to 2 years and three months custody after pleading responsible to at least one cost of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Lampard, 60, of Vigo, Kent, was sentenced to an 18 month conditional discharge, after pleading responsible to promoting puppies with out a licence.
Sergeant Darren Walshaw, of Kent Police’s Rural Task Force, mentioned: ‘Those convicted reaped considerable financial benefit by repeatedly breeding dogs, all the while failing to provide the animals and their puppies with appropriate medical care, such as worming medication and inoculations.
‘They demonstrated cruelty and neglectful behaviour that ultimately led to numerous animals losing their lives unnecessarily.’
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