CONVICTED (2021) | Jamie Voice, born 8 January 1998, and partner Lucy Thompson, born 20 August 1998, both of Queen Elizabeth Road, Nuneaton CV10 – banned from keeping animals for life after cropping puppies’ ears
Voice and Thompson, who are parents, subjected their three puppies to an unnecessary painful and psychologically damaging cosmetic procedure
Lucy Thompson and Jamie Voice both pleaded guilty to one offence under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act for causing the cropping of three puppies’ ears.
RSPCA officers visited the couple’s property with police on 27 August 2020.
Ear cropping has been outlawed in England since 1899, but is still being carried out illegally.
Inspector Beth Boyd said: “There were three XL American bully puppies inside, all with cropped ears.
“Thirteen-week-olds Khaleesi and Nymeria, and 10-week-old Enemy all had the tips of their ears removed. This process can be incredibly painful for dogs and can also cause long-term health, welfare and behaviour problems for the dogs.
The couple are now banned for life from keeping animals
“As part of our enquiries we spoke to vets who had seen Khaleesi and Nymeria for vaccinations and they confirmed that both dogs had their ears intact at that point, meaning the cropping must have been carried out by the owners after their first vaccinations.”
The couple were charged jointly with causing or permitting a mutilated procedure – namely ear cropping – to take place on their three puppies: Khaleesi, Nymeria and Enemy.
Beth added: “Police seized all three dogs and they have remained in our care during the case. Thankfully, they’ve been in foster homes where they’ve been doing really well and we’re thrilled that we can now rehome them all.”
Sentencing: 18-month community orders with requirements for 100 hours of unpaid work and a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement. They must also both pay £250 in costs. All three dogs were removed from their ownership by the courts meaning they can now be rehomed by the RSPCA. The pair were also disqualified from keeping all animals for life.
CONVICTED (2021) | puppy farmer Dorian Wyn Jones, born May 1974, of Penrheol Farm, Talsarn, Lampeter SA48 8QZ – kept dogs in overcrowded conditions in breach of breeding licence.
In October 2020 Dorian Wyn Jones, company director of haulage firm Peter Jones and Son Ltd, was found guilty of four charges relating to his dog breeding licence.
Wyn Jones, who operates a licensed dog breeding establishment known as Dorwan Kennels (aka Cerwan Kennels) from Penrheol, Talsarn, Lampeter was found guilty of four charges relating to contraventions of his dog breeding license conditions.
Over a three-day trial, the court heard evidence that Wyn Jones had been granted a licence for 33 dogs. However, during a visit undertaken by Ceredigion County Council’s Public Protection Officers on 7 August 2019, they found 91 dogs at the premises excluding puppies, in clear breach of his license.
In a further visit on 4 September 2019, Council officers found the number of dogs had increased even further to 97 dogs.
As the kennels were not designed for such an increased number of dogs, they were found to be overcrowded on both visits in contravention of the minimum space standards that is required by the license conditions. The dogs had very little space in which to express normal behaviour, and were not given an appropriate environment that was free from fear and distress.
The District Judge found Wyn Jones guilty of exceeding his licensed number of dogs and housing the animals in overcrowded conditions. The case was referred to the Crown Court for sentencing, and to determine an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Failed Planning Application
Immediately after being found guilty of the above offences, Wyn Jones submitted a planning application to Ceredigion County Council for the conversion of outbuildings to dog kennels.
Following a vigorous online campaign by the sadly now defunct animal welfare pressure group C.A.R.I.A.D. Wyn Jones withdrew the application.
Appeal Against Conviction
On 27 November 2020, and 22 December 2020, the Crown Court heard an appeal by Wyn Jones, relating to convictions for failing to comply with dog breeding license conditions.
The Crown Court upheld the conviction that the dogs under the care of Wyn Jones were kept in overcrowded conditions in contravention of the minimum space standards required by the license conditions. Other convictions were overturned.
Sentencing | On 9 February 2021, Dorian Jones was fined £1000 for the overcrowding offence, and ordered to pay legal costs amounting to £2500.
A selection of recent puppy selling ads placed by Dorian Wyn Jones on the dodgy classifieds website K9 World which is run by fellow Welshman Geraint Williams from Carmarthen and is a popular outlet for puppy farmers.
The full text of the last advert reads:
FIVE STAR FULLY LICENSED BREEDER TWO FIVE STAR HEALTH CHECKS FULLY VACCINATED READY NOW TAKE YOUR TIME WHILST CHOOSING YOUR LIFETIME PUPPY TO READ OUR REVIEWS ON FACEBOOK LONGVIEW BOARDING KENNELS AND CATTERY.
Mum is our family pet Tilly this is her second and final litter and she can be viewed with her pups. She is a was vet checked prior to mating to ensure she was fit and healthy with no health issues.
Dad is Rocky our beautiful miniature poodle KC registered PRA/PRCD VW DM CLEAR all certificates are here, chosen for his outstanding temperament.
These babies are being lovingly raised and cared for with no expense spared, pups will have had three full health assessment prior to collection, parvo precautionary vaccinations will be done, first vaccinations given and second health assessments, we will give then there last jab and final health check at ten weeks. They will be wormed from two weeks of age with panacur 10% and at eight week will be given advocate, which covers them for four weeks, for worms, fleas and ear mites.
Puppies will leave with Vaccination card. ✅ TWO full Health checks ✅ Microchipped✅ Worming and flea treatments given✅ Worming and flea treatment documents ✅ 1 kilo bag of food ✅ Food and water bowls✅ Scent Blanket✅ Toys✅
We are five star licensed breeders and you will be asked to sign a contract which will give you the opportunity to take your new addition to your vet for a full health check, should your vet find a problem with the puppy which our vet has not, we will be more than happy to have the puppy back and refund you your money back. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to view the puppies or have any questions, all we ask is that you do not view any other litter prior to vising us, to stop any chance of infection spreading. A life time of aftercare and advice is always available and if you would like to read our reviews from very happy new puppy owners please feel free to visit our Facebook page. Sorry for the essay but we will also be asking question about yourselves and what you have to offer our babies.
CONVICTED (2021) | Karen Creswell, born December 1972, of Bamville Road, Ward End, Birmingham B8 2TN – kept a dog and three cats in squalid house.
Karen Creswell’s neglected pets included an elderly dog named Sheba. Creswell must now serve a 15-yearban on keeping animals.
The RSPCA were called to Creswell’s address in July 2020 over concerns for the health of her pets and reports of ‘poor conditions’.
When RSPCA Inspector Louise Marston attended, she found the house was dirty, cluttered and had animal faeces and urine covering the floor, leaving it sticky to walk on.
There were litter trays positioned around the home but all were full and brimming over with faeces.
In the living room she found a sleeping elderly bull-terrier-cross dog called Sheba who appeared very weak.
She had fur loss around the eyes and on her back due to an untreated skin condition and a large cyst hanging from underneath her.
Sheba also had long nails suggesting she had not been exercised and when Louise carried her into her van she was ‘clearly arthritic’.
Two cats, Teddy and Venus, were also found at the property and along with Sheba were taken to the RSPCA’s Newbrook Animal Centre. The other cat was out of the property at the time and has since been re-homed.
Cresswell pleaded guilty to two animal welfare offences when she appeared before Birmingham Magistrate’s Court.
All of the animals are now recovering in the RSPCA’s care
Magistrates said there was a “high level of suffering” which they said was evident in “the dreadful condition the dog is in the photographs” at the sentencing.
Insp Marston said: “The general conditions of the house were clearly unsuitable for these pets and they were taken into our care.
“The house was full of clutter with animal faeces and urine covering the floors. A vet concluded that the cats were in good health but there were multiple health issues detected with Sheba that she was in a suffering state.
“Sheba was taken to the animal hospital for immediate treatment and has since been rehomed into foster care where she is making great progress with on-going medication.
“Teddy and Venus were immediately bathed as the unpleasant smell of the property was on their fur.
“They were then taken to the Burton and district branch of the RSPCA where they will be available for rehoming soon.”
Sentencing: two year probation order with 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement; ordered to pay £114 in costs and charges. 15-year ban on keeping animals (expires February 2036).
CONVICTED (2021) | “Cruel, neglectful and greedy” puppy farmers Andrew Leigh Bateman, born 23 September 1980, partner Kelly Marie Busby, born 2 May 1988, both formerly of Cwmann, Lampeter, Wales but now at the Yarcombe Inn, Honiton, Devon EX14 9BD, and Jeremy Paul Awdry, born c. 1948, of Jubilee Villa, Lydney Road, Bream, Lydney GL15 6EN – for offences of cruelty and neglect of puppies they bred.
Cruel and greedy puppy farmers Kelly Busby, Andrew Bateman (red tie) and Jeremy Awdry are banned from keeping dogs indefinitely following a successful local authority prosecution
Puppy farmers Andrew Bateman, Kelly Busby and Jeremy Awdry have been banned from keeping dogs for life after a judge branded their shoddy breeding business an “exercise of cruelty and neglect, hallmarked by greed”.
Bateman and Busby, who had a breeding licence for West Wales but not Forest of Dean, advertised “home bred” puppies online, but the dogs they supplied were from Awdry’s puppy farm in Bream where the environment was one of filth, chaos and neglect.
Dogs were kept in cages which were exposed to the elements or dark and unlit while faeces were left to accumulate
Prosecutor Greg Gordon told the court “Adverts for puppies were placed on three websites; Gumtree, Pets4Homes and Freeads and these created a false impression – that the sellers were fully licensed and that the puppies were raised in a caring and friendly home and were in good health.
“However none of this was true. The conditions that the puppies were kept in were squalid and they were poorly looked after.
“They were not being brought up in caring environment and none of the defendants were licensed to sell puppies in the Forest of Dean.”
Following numerous complaints from members of the public, officers from Forest of Dean District Council visited the site and took photographs of the shocking conditions.
Officer found a black Labrador puppy of around three months inside a cage kept in an open-fronted garage. The cage had no bedding and was placed on the concrete floor. There was no food, an empty bowl and a large amount of faeces.
That puppy was seized by the officers and was re-homed after being signed over to the Council.
Another two dogs were kept in complete darkness in a garage and when the officers entered they were “overcome with the smell of urine.” The floor was filthy and the puppies had a little water but no bedding or food.
Adult dogs were found in open-air cages surrounded by chicken remains, pieces raw meat and large quantities of rubbish.
Jeremy Awdry
Mr Gordon described how potential purchasers arriving at Jubilee Villa “were greeted with a property that was in a sorry state. One of the witnesses stated that they should have turned away there and then as there was a vast amount of poo and wee on the floor in the kitchen where the puppies were.
“Another witness said they were uncomfortable with dogs being kept in small kennels. The puppies were constantly barking. A further witness was so shocked by the conditions that although she had only intended to buy one puppy she felt she had to return to buy the other puppy to get it out of those terrible conditions.”
The prosecutor said that there was a long list of complaints from purchasers as the puppies were often ill with diarrhoea and other medical issues when they took them home.
Mr Gordon added: “One puppy died shortly after being purchased from Awdry, while others racked up significant vet bills.
“Awdry promised the purchasers that they had four weeks’ vet insurance. This was never registered and Kennel Club registration paperwork proved to be false and inaccurate. Microchips were badly implanted into the puppies by Awdry.”
A veterinary expert described the site as “harbouring a range of pathogenic diseases that can cause significant illnesses in dogs and humans.”
The expert also criticised the “small, bland environment”, the lack of clean comfortable bedding or toys and the lack of “enrichment” with the consequence that the puppies could develop behavioural difficulties.
During interview, Awdry admitted that he dipped dogs in chemicals as he did with his sheep.
The court heard the three defendants had earned around £90,000 in four years from puppy farming.
Clive Rees, for Awdry, told the court : “The council officials visited the day after the roof had blown off the chicken shed which is why there were so many remains around.
“Awdry has spent £3,000 on building new kennels, but it appears this has been a waste of time if he is to be banned from keeping dogs in the future.
“He is remorseful, even if he hasn’t shown it to the officers.”
Andrew Bateman and Kelly Busby, who are both bankrupt, are now believed to be running a pub in Honiton, Devon
Christian Jowett, for Bateman, said: “He has now lost his business and is moving to England to seek employment. He has had to sell their legitimate puppies in West Wales to comply with the impending ban on owning dogs.”
Kate Williams, for Busby, said: “She feels she has let her family down over this situation. She has been hit hard financially as she has now lost her home and was made bankrupt last year. She also takes issue with some of the allegations made.”
The three defendants each admitted three offences of failing to meet an animal’s needs. Awdry also admitted three offences of selling a dog without a licence in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Judge Ian Lawrie QC told them: “All three of you wanted to make money from this venture. None of you were concerned about the welfare of the animals. I am at a loss how you could have kept this up for such a lengthy period of time.
“You may not have set out to be cruel, but it was your ongoing neglect that was cruel. The dogs were in your care.
“This was a contrived exercise of cruelty and neglect hallmarked by greed. You each had different roles but were all negligent in the animals’ welfare as you were more concerned about making money.
“It is clear that when there were sales, the promised veterinary insurance was never registered.”
The prosecution was brought by officers in the Street Warden Team and the Counter Fraud Unit (CFU) with the assistance of the Forest of Dean council’s legal team.
PC Cath McDay from the rural crime team at Coleford Police station assisted in obtaining a warrant to inspect the premises.
Sentencing: 19-week custodial sentence suspended for two years; ordered to each pay £3,478 towards court costs and £2,901 compensation and a £115 victim surcharge.
Awdry also received a 7pm to 7am curfew order for six months; Bateman and Busby were ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
All three were banned from owning dogs indefinitely.
In March 2019 Jeremy Awdry received compensation after having dozens of his sheep seized by police and the local authority.
Around 55 of Awdry’s sheep were taken from two disputed locations in Bream under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, which allows the impounding of sheep “at any time found at large in any street”.
However, a judge ruled the animals should not have been taken.
Ten years earlier Awdry was given a five-year Asbo (repeatedly breached), banning his flock from Bream, after his sheep were reportedly straying into gardens and damaging fences.
Following his conviction for dog cruelty and illegal breeding, several locals have alleged that Awdry also neglects his sheep.
One local said: “He has at least sixty free roaming sheep which has not, as far as I can see, been reported on. These sheep are not in the best condition, as you can imagine. He also has his own collies he uses to round them up etc. I don’t know if he still has the dogs, but if not it will make any kind of shepherding almost impossible.
“[Awdry] is not a nice character and is always in a battle with the police, council etc.
“The sheep have to be registered, and due to his bad husbandry and disregard he has registered them in his son’s name[James Awdry]. He’s as bad as his father.
“I just feel that his sheep are now a matter for concern. They are in lamb and need extra food etc, not just grass, which is in short supply this time of year.”
News and Updates
Address for Bateman and Busby as of 18 May 2021: 22 Norburton Burton Bradstock BRIDPORT Dorset DT6 4QL
They have taken over two fast-food kiosks in the West Bay area of Bridport: the West Bay and Ships Galley. Busby recently advertised for staff on Facebook:
UKACF FB post 27 April 2021
PuppyFarmersExposed | On the move and still at it. Now in Bridport, Dorset Andrew Bateman and Kelly Busby, previously of Cwmann, #Lampeter, Wales, were banned from keeping dogs for life in February 2021 after investigators uncovered a litany of animal cruelty and neglect by the money-grubbing pair and their notorious accomplice, Jeremy Awdry of Bream in Gloucestershire.
The financially and morally bankrupt couple have been on the move ever since, initially settling in Honiton, Devon, where they were to be the new tenants of the Yarcombe Inn. Following an outcry by locals that offer was withdrawn and they upped sticks again.
We have now heard from several different sources – all reliable – that they have taken over management of a fish & chip business in West Bay, Bridport, Dorset.
“Well at least they’re now earning an honest living!” we hear you cry. If only. Unfortunately there is an abundance of evidence to suggest that they have continued to source and sell puppies and their ‘respectable’ cash-based business will be no more than a useful front for their cruel and shoddy dealings.
We have heard that Bateman’s cruelty towards dogs went far beyond neglect and actually veered more towards the violent and sadistic. This man should not be allowed within 10 feet of a dog or any animal. He, and all others like him, must be put out of the pet-selling business for good.
Jeremy Awdry has finally been sent to prison after admitting breaching the order not to keep dogs.
Shortly after his conviction in February 2021, information was received that Awdry was still in possession of dogs at his premises and was in breach of the disqualification order. The matter was investigated by the officers from the street warden and counter fraud teams at Forest of Dean District Council.
On two separate occasions, Awdry was witnessed flouting that ban – by council officers and Gloucestershire Police.
He was seen to be either in control of dogs, or transporting them in his van, both of which constitute a breach of the banning order.
Appearing at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on February 1, 2022, Awdry pleaded guilty to two offences of breaching the disqualification imposed on him. He was sentenced to 25 weeks’ imprisonment: three weeks for each of the charges and 19 weeks imposed in relation to the suspended sentence. Full costs were also awarded to the council.
Forest of Dean District Council’s animal welfare member champion, Councillor Nicky Packer said: “Our street warden team does a fantastic job year round of ensuring that animals in our district are looked after properly, and that those who mistreat or cause harm to their animals are held accountable.
“Today’s verdict should stand as testament to this. A ban on keeping dogs means exactly that. If, as in this case, it isn’t followed, our street warden and counter fraud and enforcement team will enforce it.”
CONVICTED (2021) | Kelly Louise Agnew, born c. 1982, previously of Borland Avenue, Carlisle and now Merrick Terrace, Portpatrick, Stranraer, Dumfries & Galloway – caught on video performing a sexual act with a dog; downloaded child abuse and bestiality images
Agnew was put on the Sex Offenders’ Register after she admitted offences of downloading child abuse images.
The first three allegations related to her downloading indecent photos of children, some of which were ‘Category A’ images, considered the most serious (tend to show child rape and torture).
The fourth charge related to the defendant publishing three moving images of herself performing a sexual act with a dog.
The final allegation Agnew admitted was a charge of possessing 32 extreme pornographic images involving people and animals.
Agnew was sentenced to a two-year community order comprising a rehabilitation requirement. She must sign the sex offenders’ register for five years and comply with a sexual harm prevention order.
CONVICTED (2021) | Benjamin Peter Marshall, born 23 May1977, of New Street, Southowram, Halifax – failed to care for two donkeys
Benjamin Marshall admitted the serious neglect of donkeys Jemimah and Snowball
Marshall, who had ignored advice from both the RSPCA and The Donkey Sanctuary, pleaded guilty to three animal welfare offences in relation to 13-year-old Jemimah and her four-year-old daughter Snowball.
He failed to meet the donkeys’ basic welfare needs by not providing them with access to a clean supply of fresh water or a suitable and safe environment to live in. In addition, also failed to seek veterinary treatment for their various ailments which included laminitis and thrush. He also failed to provide the donkeys with adequate dental and foot care.
Benjamin Marshall’s donkeys Jeremiah and Snowball were found living in yard covered in broken glass and metal
RSPCA Inspector Rebecca Goulding and two welfare advisers from The Donkey Sanctuary discovered the donkeys living on a waste site that contained many dangerous objects.
The area was littered with broken plastic, wood, scrap metal, dumped wooden pallets and rolls of metal fencing among other rubbish.
There was also a broken trailer that had multiple sharp edges on it and the area was strewn with broken metal and glass. She found that there was no area of the field that was safe or suitable for the donkeys.
The grass cover was sparse and the forage foraging provided for the two donkeys was wet and covered in mud and faeces.
Marshall advised the donkeys had access to water in a dustbin, but the water level was too low down for the donkeys to reach. Their shelter was dirty and deep in mud and faeces and meant the donkeys had no hardstanding.
Inspector Goulding said: “Donkeys require shelter at all times as, unlike horses, their coats are not well adapted to our climate and so they require shelter from the weather, but especially the rain, wind and cold.”
Vet Dr Suzanne Green from Greenway Equine Veterinary Services, was called to assess the donkeys’ conditions and found that Jemimah was extremely lame with laminitis. She had an overgrown foot and was in a lot of pain.
Marshall told the vet the donkey “had been like that for 10 years” and was “fine”.
Snowball’s feet were overgrown and starting to curl upwards. She had thrush and severe white line disease in all four of her feet.
Both donkeys were also found to have extremely sharp teeth and there was no evidence of previous dental work having been done.
The vet recommended the donkeys were removed from the site and West Yorkshire Police took them into possession, passing them into the RSPCA’s care. The donkeys were transported to a Donkey Sanctuary-funded holding base so they could receive specialist care and start their rehabilitation.
In mitigation, the court heard that Marshall should be given credit for his guilty plea and he had now agreed to sign Snowball over to the RSPCA. Jeminah had been signed over at an earlier date.
Magistrates stated this was a serious case and that Jemimah had suffered significantly. The two donkeys had not been provided with water, adequate vet treatment or farrier care and, in short, the donkeys’ needs were not met.
Sentencing: 18-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work; £440 costs and charges. Five-year disqualification from keeping donkeys (expires February 2026).
CONVICTED (2021) | Katrina Joanne Parkinson (aka Katrina Kirkby), born 13 September 1992, of Falcon Drive, Little Hulton, City of Salford M38 9SN and Peter Brooks, born c. 1989, of Kirkhall Lane, Leigh, Wigan WN7 – produced “utterly disgusting and depraved” pornographic videos involving puppies
Sexual deviants Katrina Parkinson and Peter Brooks of Greater Manchester
Backyard breeder Katrina Parkinson made three sordid videos showing her having sex with between five and seven puppies. Parkinson sent the videos via WhatsApp to her boyfriend, Peter Brooks, in a sad attempt to reignite his interest in her. The pair then exchanged a series of “jokey” messages about the videos.
There was no evidence that the puppies had been harmed and the pair do not appear to have sent the videos to anyone else.
A further 13 extreme pornographic pictures and videos of sexual activity between people and dogs and horses were found on Parkinson’s electronic devices.
Mother-of-two Parkinson, who works as a massage therapist, pleaded guilty to possession of 13 extreme pornographic images and publishing three extreme pornographic videos. Brooks, who also has children, admitted possessing an extreme pornographic image.
Parkinson’s lawyer told the court his client had paid paid a heavy price as social services became involved and her children no longer live with her.
Judge Suzanne Goddard QC described the videos as “utterly disgusting and depraved”.
“Society finds the keeping of images such as these, let alone the creation of them, as utterly repugnant,” she said.
“The facts of this case are utterly repugnant to ordinary, decent members of society.”
Sentencing: Parkinson – six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. 150 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities.
Brooks – four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities. £250 towards prosecution costs.
CONVICTED (2021) | serial rapist Paul Hill, born c. 1965, of Kings Park Drive, Ayr – killed family pets to exert control over women
Sadistic monster Paul Hill drowned a former partner’s pet parakeet, killed another’s tiny kitten, threw a third girlfriend’s cat out of a window, and threatened to harm his own Alsatian bitch when a fourth woman told him she was leaving him.
The former bouncer was convicted of raping four women and physically assaulting eight women.
His offending took place between 1987 and 2009 throughout the Tayside, Grampian and Fife areas.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Mulholland told Hill: “You used coercive and controlling behaviour. You abused and belittled them. You harmed their pets as a way of punishing them.
“Your behaviour was cruel and despicable.”
Hill was ordered to be monitored in the community for three years after his release from jail.
Defence counsel John McElroy representing Hill said: “He continues to maintain his innocence.”
Hill denied committing a string of sexual and violent offences against former partners in Aberdeen and Dundee over a 22-year period and claimed any sex was consensual.
He claimed he acted in self-defence when he strangled a 59-year-old grandmother at a Christmas party until her face turned purple after drunkenly shouting, “I’m a killing machine.”
His victims said that Hill was an evil “psycho” who verbally abused, beat, strangled and raped them. One said he attacked her after she put a CD in his alphabetically arranged collection in the wrong place.
One terrified mum-of-two sobbed as she told how she took her children to her mum’s after she caught Hill having sex with another woman in their bed.
Later he phoned threatening to kill the family’s 18-year-old pet parakeets if she didn’t return.
She said: “I went home later on that night because I knew he wasn’t in the house.
“The kids went into the house and they saw there was only one bird in the cage. They found the other parrot drowned in the kitchen sink.
“He drowned it, because the sink was filled up with water.”
Another ex-girlfriend told how Hill wrecked the Tayside apartment he shared with her after she left him because of his violent behaviour.
She said. “I had a kitten. It was only a little wee kitten. He killed my kitten.”
Hill was also convicted of throwing another woman’s cat out of the window of a flat in Kincorth, Aberdeen.
The woman said that several times when she’d said ‘no’ to sex Hill started to strangle her. She said: “His whole face – his eyes – would change, he was like a completely different person. His eyes would go really dark. He just looked really evil.”
Hill, who appeared in court via a video link, was placed on the sex offenders’ register.
CONVICTED (2021) | commercial breeder Michael Dawson trading as Element Bullies, born 14 November 1971, of Tamerton Foliot Road, Plymouth PL6 – allowed a puppy’s ears to be mutilated
American bully-type puppy Riot was seized from breeder Michael Dawson by the RSPCA after her ears were cropped
Company director Michael Dawson, who owns Element Bullys Ltd, was caught with the mutilated American pocket bully-type bitch in a raid by police and other agencies at his Plymouth house.
The tan and white dog, called Riot, was found in a crate in the garden with cropped ears.
The dog was seized by the RSPCA and has since been rehomed.
Dawson pleaded guilty to permitting another person to perform a prohibited procedure or failing to protect a protected animal in June 2019.
Despite owning a plumbing and heating business, Dawson was not banned from keeping animals because he claimed breeding dogs was his only source of income.
He told the court that he had bought the puppy from a Scottish breeder for £5,000.
The RSPCA said that Dawson said to the magistrates that he had sent Riot away to meet a potential mate.
He said that he was upset when the dog returned with her ears cropped.
A vet who examined Riot found both of her ears, or pinnae, had been surgically removed and still had blue/purple sutures and pink antibiotic spray. Biopsies taken showed the injuries had been inflicted around two weeks earlier.
An RSPCA spokesperson said Riot was taken into foster care when the multi-agency warrant was executed with Plymouth City Council at the fore.
She added: “Riot was signed over to the RSPCA in March 2020 and settled in well to her new home.”
The RSPCA said ear-cropping was on the increase despite being illegal. It is allowed in America and other European countries.
The charity added that people were encouraged by celebrities who had cropped dogs as in a separate case shown above.
But the RSPCA says that it is painful and unnecessary, affecting the way dogs hear and communicate.
Dawson was fined in November 2020 at the same court for having illegal veterinary medicines.
Dawson and his company admitted having five substances, including prescription only antibiotic treatment for dogs.
It followed a raid under a search warrant by officials from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Both Dawson and the company pleaded guilty to possession of unauthorised medicinal products.
Dawson was fined £265 and ordered to pay £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.
Element Bullys Ltd was fined £1,500, plus a £150 victim surcharge.
Sentencing: fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £100 victim surcharge.
Dawson returned to court to face prosecution by Plymouth City Council for operating a dog breeding establishment without a licence. The court heard he sold dogs over Facebook and Instagram for 16 months without a permit. He made just over £63,000 by operating without a licence under legislation introduced in 2018.
It was reported that the council were also prosecuting Dawson under Proceeds of Crime legislation in an attempt to seize back the money he made through his business.
The council estimated he made £64,000, though this was hotly disputed by his solicitor.
Recorder David Chidgey rejected the council’s bid to ban him from keeping dogs or being in any business which bred or sold them.
He said: “There is no evidence to suggest that you have mistreated any animal at any time.”
Recorder Chidgey, noting that the defendant faced paying the council’s £7,000 costs and action under the Proceeds of Crime Act, imposed a two-year conditional discharge.
He added: “The reality is that the regulations are there to ensure that animals are protected.”
Urging him to get his licence, the judge said: “Get on and do it. Make sure you do not come back into court again.”
Gregory Gordon, prosecuting on behalf of Plymouth City Council, said the authority would use a ‘fit and proper person’ test on Dawson when he applied.
But he said that the defendant had three convictions for himself and his companies relating to dogs.
Dawson pleaded guilty to the single charge under the Animal Welfare Act of breeding dogs without a licence between September 30, 2018 and January 18, 2020.
Mr Gregory said that Dawson had run his business for 15 to 20 years but had fallen foul of the new regulations starting in 2018.
He said that during a 16-month period investigators had found evidence that Dawson had bred “some 22 identified dog litters” and that there was evidence that there “probably more litters”.
These were advertised on Facebook and Instagram accounts.
He added: “He said he was selling them around the world, including to celebrities in America.”
Mr Gregory said that Dawson’s attitude toward licensing had been “woeful”.
He added that no application was received by the council, though the defendant had called to ask when he was going to be inspected in June 2019.
The court heard that the average cost of a licence application, depending on veterinary fees, was £600.
The court was told that the Element Bullys was registered in Dawson’s name with Companies House and the firm was previously known as M Dawson Dog Breeding Ltd between April 2015 and August 2017. Both firms were based at Faraday Mill Business Park in Cattedown.
Mr Gregory said that puppies would be sold for between £1,000 and £1,500 but admitted that the claim that Dawson made £64,000 was an estimate.
Dawson’s solicitor Stephen Nunn said that his client “still lives and breathes dogs” and had two as pets. He said that the claims Dawson made on social media that he had a world-wide reputation were true.
He added that he was regarded as an expert on matching dogs to produce the desired colours in puppies.
Nunn said that the annual turnover for the business was £41,000, and nearly half of that was spent on veterinary fees.
He added that Dawson was a former addict who had “turned his life around”, building up first a painting and decorating business and then following in his father’s footsteps to breed and sell dogs.
Following Proceeds of Crime action by Plymouth City Council, Michael Dawson was ordered to pay back more than £100,000 of his ill-gotten gains over a period of 20 years as an unlicensed dog breeder.
In October 2021 it was revealed the the council had granted Dawson a breeding licence after he supposedly passed a ‘fit and proper person’ test.
Mike Dawson, his wife Tammy Dawson .. and their Turkey teeth paid for from the proceeds of pet profiteering and animal exploitation
Judge William Mousley ordered Dawson pay a total of £106,000 under the confiscation proceedings – under laws usually deployed against drug dealers or big-time fraudsters.
Dawson was told he must pay within three months or face a year in prison.
A financial assessor estimated that he had assets to pay the bill – mainly four properties, two of which he had inherited.
By now Dawson had racked up three convictions for himself and his companies, relating to dogs but continues to sell dogs online on a massive scale.
CONVICTED (2021) | Sanjeev Kumar Gill (aka Vix Gill), born 10 February 1976, of 44 Lancaster Road, Southall UB1 1NW – left two security dogs to starve to death
Company director Sanjeev ‘Vix’ Gill only received a five-year ban despite leaving two helpless dogs to starve to death in filthy conditions
RSPCA Inspector Mike Beaman was called by colleagues at one of the charity’s Animal Hospitals in November 2019 after company director Sanjeev Gill arrived with two dead dogs: a two-year-old male Akita called Cuba and a four-year-old male German Shepherd, Max.
Inspector Beaman said: “Both dogs were extremely emaciated and given the lowest body score possible by the vet who examined them.
“Cuba was 19.4kg and Max was 19.6kg, way below a healthy weight for these kinds of dogs.”
The court heard how the vet said an average weight for an Akita is 45-59kgs and 30-40kgs for a German Shepherd.
On examination of Max’s body, the vet said in a statement that his coat was very dirty and covered in mud, he didn’t have any obvious skin lesions and he had faeces stuck to his pelvis and hind limbs.
Cuba’s coat was also caked in mud, and the tips of his ears and left thigh were damaged.
A post-mortem carried out on the dog’s bodies did not reveal any underlying medical conditions which could have been the cause for their extreme malnourishment.
Dog killer Sanjeev Gill
Gill claimed one of the dogs had gone missing the day before and he then discovered the pair dead in a communal area near his home.
Following the sentencing, Insp Beaman added: “This was an incredibly tragic case involving the death of two dogs which could have easily been avoided if they had received the adequate diet they needed.”
Sentencing: 12-month community order with 160 hours of unpaid work; £1090 costs and charges. Disqualified from keeping all animals for just five years (expires February 2026).
Sanjeev Gill is a director with the Select Group of companies. His only active directorship is for Select Airways Limited, which trades as Happy Days Parking. The Group operates in several sectors including recruitment and security.
Gill also has a residence in St Andrews House, St Andrew Wood Lane, Iver, Buckinghamshire SL0 0LD. It is rumoured that he is also keeping dogs at that property.
Gill has four adult children: Meena, Dylan, Riya and Sital. His wife’s name is Sunita Masih.
His brother Sunil Gill is a co-director of the Select Group.
We collate data on animal cruelty convictions in the UK
