Category Archives: Pet Shops

bricks and mortar pet shops

Animal Abandonment, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops, Reptiles / Exotics

Kingston upon Hull: Andrea Darnell

March 5, 2024 misanthropic 1 Comment

CONVICTED (2024) | former pet shop owner Andrea Maxine Darnell aka Andrea Cooper, born 17 December 1964, of 81 Wivern Road, Hull HU9 4HR – for the starvation and neglect of several snakes all of which died.

RSPCA prosecution of pet shop owner Andrea Darnell aka Andrea Cooper from Hull, who starved and neglected six snakes

In an RSPCA prosecution, Darnell, former owner of the Diamond Exotic pet shop in Saville Street, Hull, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to six snakes. The reptiles died shortly after being rescued.

The court heard that the RSPCA first visited Darnell’s shop in May 2023 after concerns were flagged about the welfare of the animals there.

RSPCA Inspector Laura Barber said: “On our initial visit, a range of worrying issues were immediately apparent. To me and my colleague, exotics expert Inspector Kim Greaves, the shop appeared very overcrowded, with various vivariums stacked on top of each other and inappropriate numbers of animals in the same, small vivariums.

“Many of them – including iguanas, snakes, bearded dragons and a Chinese water dragon – were being kept in dirty, inappropriate conditions or showed historic injuries. A rhinoceros iguana was running free, some vivariums had no substrate and a large, reticulated python was found in a too-small vivarium.

“A Chinese water dragon seemed to have a historical healing mouth issue and many of the vivariums were over-heated. We were very concerned for these animals.”

The RSPCA inspectors issued Darnell with Animal Welfare Notices setting out what was required for her to improve the conditions in the shop. They said that they would revisit to check her progress after a month.

In late June 2023, Inspector Barber and Inspector Greaves reattended the pet shop accompanied by a pet shop inspector from Hull City Council, but there was no improvement. Darnell had failed to keep feeding or care records, which was a breach of her licence conditions.

Inspectors also visited two rooms on the second floor of the premises. These were messy, cluttered and littered with rubbish.

In one room inspectors found 18 young snakes in a racking system without thermostats. Many had no water available.

Six of the snakes were in particularly poor condition. Five corn snakes and one royal python were cold to the touch, underweight and close to death. The corn snakes’ vivarium was dirty with a bad odour. It had no lighting and and the single water bowl contained very little water and wasn’t large enough to bathe in.

Darnell claimed the python had not eaten since she had acquired it but conceded she had never taken him to a vet. She confirmed she owned all six ailing snakes.

The council revoked Darnell’s pet shop licence.

The dying snakes were signed over to the RSPCA and taken to a vet for a preliminary examination. They were then put in the care of a specialist boarding facility to await further in-depth veterinary checks.

Sadly, the royal python and one of the corn snakes soon passed away. The remaining four snakes also died over the next few days.

A vet reported that all the snakes had been dehydrated and extremely emaciated with significant weight loss. They had suffered from mites and some showed suggestions of metabolic bone disease. She believed starvation and dehydration were the probable cause of death.

The vet concluded all the snakes had been caused to suffer unnecessarily in that the person responsible for their care had failed to provide appropriate nutrition, hydration, a clean environment and ability to perform normal behaviour through lack of appropriate environment, husbandry, and feeding.

RSPCA Inspector Barber said: “There was no excuse for not providing those poor snakes with their basic needs and failing to seek veterinary care for them when it was abundantly clear that they so desperately needed it.

“These were awful cases and simply shouldn’t have happened. The RSPCA urges anyone struggling to take care of their animals to ask for help, rather than neglecting them and leaving them to suffer.”

According to Companies House, the Diamond Exotic shop is now under the ownership of Luke Franklin, who is believed to be Andrea Darnell’s son-in-law.

Sentencing | 12-month community order of 250 hours of unpaid work; £400 costs and £154 victim surcharge. A confiscation order was made in relation to four tarantula spiders . 10-year ban on keeping any exotic pet.

BBC News
HullLive

guinea pigs, Lifers, Multiple Species, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops, rabbits, Small Furries, Worst of the Worst

Eccleshill, Bradford: Andrew Garth

February 26, 2022 misanthropic 2 Comments

CONVICTED (2022) | former pet shop owner Andrew Paul Garth, born March 1983, of Silwood Drive, Bradford BD2 3ER – starved animals and kept them in squalid conditions; stored the corpses of dead animals in a bin and freezer.

Andrew Garth with wife Sara Turner. She is a convicted animal abuser in her own right and in November 2020 was banned from keeping equines for 10 years in a shocking cruelty case.

Garth, former owner of Allpets and The Bradford Birdman, was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to guinea pigs, rabbits and mice by failing to provide food and water.

An inspection by environmental health officers in January 2020 found animals living in awful conditions, with many of them having died because of a lack of food and water.

Dead animals were found in bins and the freezer storage area. Guinea pigs being mixed in enclosures with rabbits with no attempt at separating male and female animals. No records were kept for feeding or health checks.

Images taken during the inspection show dead mice being stored in a bread bag.

The case was exacerbated by the fact that Garth was providing college students with experience working with animals.

The findings were verified by a vet, who confirmed that animals were suffering or had died through a lack of food.

Garth, , who is married to convicted animal abuser Sara Garth ( née Turner), pleaded guilty to the charge.

Magistrates noted that he showed no remorse for his actions.

Handing down their sentence, Chair of the bench A Coward said: “This was the prolonged ill treatment of several animals.

“It caused death, serious injury and harm to animals. There was a high level of suffering, and we haven’t seen any remorse from you.

“The surviving animals were found in squalid conditions. All this while you were supervising college student to learn on work experience.

“The bench feels that this matter is so serious only custody will suffice.”

They took into account his previous good character and his guilty plea, although they gave limited weight to mitigation that Garth was suffering health issues.

Garth’s defence told the court they would be appealing the sentence, and Garth’s detention will be delayed pending the appeal.

Sentencing: 20-week prison sentence; £128 fine. Lifetime ban on keeping animals but may appeal after five years.

Examiner Live

Lifers, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops, Primates

Notting Hill, London: Joseph Ghessen

February 22, 2022 misanthropic Leave a comment

CONVICTED (2022) | pet shop owner Joseph Paul Ghessen, born December 1980, of 144-146 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RR – kept a horribly abused marmoset monkey in a tiny cage.

Joseph Paul Gheesen kept the marmoset in a tiny cage lacking in enrichment.

Joseph Ghessen, who runs Cally Pets in Caledonian Road, Islington, has been banned from owning primates indefinitely after his depressed monkey escaped from a tiny cage in a London flat and showed signs of horrible abuse.

Ghessen was investigated by the RSPCA after the female marmoset named Nicky escaped his London flat in Notting Hill.

In June 2019 an animal welfare inspector found little Nicky in a sorry state showing upsetting signs of abuse including hair loss, bruising and rickets.

The depressed marmoset fell from Ghessen’s flat where she had been caged alone since her companion horrifically died in a fire. Previous reports said that Ghessen had owned five marmosets at one time and it’s not clear what happened to the others.

RSPCA Inspector Callum Isitt, who found Nicky, said: “I soon identified her owner as he had reported that his pet marmoset was missing.

“When I visited his home, I could see that Nicky was living in unacceptable conditions. Primates are intelligent, sentient and highly social animals with complex needs. But Nicky had been kept in a cage that was too small.”

The rickets was caused by the lack of ultra violet lighting, which is important for the bone health of monkeys.

Mr Isitt said Ghessen provided Nicky with very little environmental enrichment or mental stimulation.

In March 2021 Ghessen was found guilty of not meeting the needs of his pet marmoset and was disqualified from keeping a pet for 10 years, as well as being handed a £250 fine and was made to pay £1,200 costs.

However, on February 11, 2022 Ghessen appeared in court again to appeal against this sentence. But rather than reduce the terms of his sentence, a judge at Southwark Crown Court decided to increase his ban on keeping primates from 10 years to an indefinite period of time, and ordered that Ghessen pay a further £300 towards prosecution costs.

Nicky has since been re-homed to a specialist facility where she is living a happier life.

Mr Issit said: “It was clear Nicky’s needs just weren’t being met. She will now live out the rest of her natural life at a specialist primate boarding facility in a suitable environment where she will be able to socialise with other members of her species.”

Sentencing: ordered to pay £1,450 in fines and costs. Originally banned from keeping animals for 10 years but the ban on keeping primates was extended to indefinite after Ghessen appealed.

Daily Star

Birds, Cats, Multiple Species, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops, Small Furries

Bordesley Green, Birmingham: Mohammed Nabeel and Nazar Hussain

August 22, 2019 misanthropic Leave a comment

CONVICTED (2019) | Nazar Hussain, born 28/02/1969, of Rotherfield Road, Birmingham B26 2SH, and Mohammed Nabeel, born May 1991, of Ludlow Road, Birmingham B8 3BY – for animal welfare offences at pet shop Bordesley Green Pet & Aquatics.

Pet shop operators Nazar Hussain and Mohammed Nabeel from Birmingham kept animals in appalling conditions and failed to treat their medical conditions

Nazar Hussain and Mohammed Nabeel, the respective licence holder and manager of Bordesley Green Pets & Aquatics based at 149 Bordesley Green, Birmingham B9 5EP, admitted multiple animal welfare offences at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.

Hussain pleaded guilty to 12 charges under the Pet Animals Act 1951, the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, while Nabeel pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Mohammed 'Nabz' Nabeel was the manager of Bordesley Green Pets & Aquatics, but failed to look after the animals properly — Mohammed ‘Nabz’ Nabeel was the manager of the pet store but failed to look after the animals properly

The court heard how on 30 May 2018, Birmingham City Council’s animal welfare team received a complaint from the RSPCA about conditions at the licensed pet shop.

The team was unable to attend that day so an RSPCA inspector visited the premises and found a number of animal welfare concerns, including:

A cockatiel with an obvious injury to its wing, which later had to be put to sleep
Two budgerigars kept in a small, dirty cage
A female cat with mammary growths, another cat chained up in the back of the shop and a third cat kept in a small cage with no food, water, bedding or litter tray
Two large rabbits kept in a small, dirty cage with no water

The RSPCA inspector issued warning notices to manager Nabeel and instructed him to make numerous and immediate improvements, including taking the cockatiel and the cat with the growths to a vet for an examination.

A senior animal welfare officer from the council visited the shop the following day, accompanied by the RSPCA inspector, and found a number of breaches of the licence relating to cleanliness, size of accommodation for animals being too small, dirty drinking receptacles or no drinking water at all, no environmental enrichment provided and animals being housed in accommodation which did not minimise stress caused by other animals.

Hussain was subsequently advised of the failure to comply with numerous conditions attached to the licence issued to him for the premises. Hussain did not attend two interviews arranged and did not provide any comments. Nabeel was interviewed by the RSPCA officer but denied any wrongdoing.

District Judge Jan Jellema described the evidence as showing a ‘truly appalling picture of how animals were kept’ and that there was ‘scant evidence of any affection for animals’.

Councillor Phil Davis, chair of the council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: “This is an absolutely appalling case where the licence holder allowed the conditions in his pet shop to deteriorate. Animals were kept in truly terrible conditions while the manager was incapable of looking after the animals and caring for their needs. In the case of the cockatiel, this lack of care resulted in it having to be put to sleep on welfare grounds.

Sentencing: 10 weeks’ imprisonment for each offence, suspended for 12 months. Total costs of £5,600 between them. They were both disqualified from having custody of any animal for a period of 10 years. Hussain was also disqualified from keeping a pet shop for 10 years (bans expire August 2029).

Birmingham City Council

Animal Abandonment, Birds, guinea pigs, Lifers, Multiple Species, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops, rabbits, Reptiles / Exotics, Small Furries, Worst of the Worst

Kingston Upon Hull: Rebecca McHugh

March 6, 2019 misanthropic Leave a comment

CONVICTED (2019) | Rebecca Dawn McHugh, born 8 November 1981 of Boulevard, Hull HU3 – left animals to starve to death in her abandoned pet shop.

Hull woman Becky McHugh abandoned her pet shop, leaving numerous animals behind to die — Becky McHugh abandoned her pet shop, leaving numerous animals behind to die

Rebecca ‘Becky’ McHugh has been disqualified from keeping caged exotics, rabbits, reptiles, guinea pigs and caged birds for life, after a prosecution case brought by the RSPCA.

In January 2018, McHugh, who also breeds rats, was convicted in her absence of four offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

The RSPCA was called to Hull Pets and Gardens on Beverley Road, Hull, in June 2018, almost five months after the shop closed.

RSPCA inspector Jilly Dickinson said: “The shop closed down in January, and I attended in June after energy suppliers entered to switch off the supply and found the exotics – it appears they had simply been left behind after the shutters had gone down for the final time.

“Five animals were alive, but only three of these – a corn snake and two bearded dragons – survived.

“The bearded dragons were underweight, and one of them had a horrendous burden of mites, leaving them unable to open their eyes, lethargic, anaemic and dehydrated.

“There was an underweight leopard gecko with long standing metabolic bone disease and subsequent current and historic fractures, and eye problems which were untreatable – meaning that they unfortunately had to be put to sleep.

“A Tegu lizard was described by the vet as being in the worst condition he had ever seen – completely emaciated, dehydrated and lethargic. The Tegu unfortunately didn’t pull through and died not long after coming into our care.”

The surviving animals were signed over to the RSPCA and have now been rehomed.

Sentencing: two-year community order including 250 hours of unpaid work; total of £385 costs and charges. Disqualified for life from keeping caged exotics, reptiles, rabbits, guinea pigs and caged birds.

Hull Daily Mail

Birds, Fish, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops, rabbits, Small Furries

Salford, Greater Manchester: Jewan Shikho

May 4, 2017 misanthropic 1 Comment

CONVICTED (2017) | Jewan Shikho, born c. 1991, of Cheshill Court, Marlborough Road, Salford M7 4SD – kept birds and animals in squalor at his pet shop and caused the death of a goldfish

Pet shop owner Shikho was banned from trading until May 2022 after animals were found being kept in appalling conditions.

The court heard how he killed a goldfish by unplugging a fish tank pump to charge his mobile phone. Four other fish were rescued from the tank after the oxygen pipe was left without power.

A parakeet was also found dead in piles of excrement and baby rabbits were seen roaming around the filthy shop because their hutches were not secure.

Council environmental health officers found the shocking conditions when they visited Pets Place in Great Cheetham Street East, Salford.

The owner ‘cared nothing for the welfare of the animals, only for his profits’, town hall bosses said.

Parakeets had been crammed into a makeshift aviary with insufficient perching space and were having to cling to the sides of the cage, while one bird lay dead.

A baby rabbit was left without access to water and three others roamed freely round the mouse-infested premises.

Exterior of Jewan Shikho's pet store Pets Place

Shikho, who is believed to be a Kurdish national, breached 23 conditions of his pet shop licence, including having no documentation to show where the animals had come from or who he had sold them to.

He pleaded guilty to failing to comply with pet shop licence conditions as prescribed under The Pet Animals Act

Magistrates heard that officers from Salford council went to the shop in August 2016, following a complaint.

They had to get a warrant to enter the shop as Shikho failed to respond to phone calls and messages advising him that officers wanted to inspect.

The rabbits were removed by the RSPCA because they were in poor health. A follow-up inspection a week later found Shikho had removed the aviary.

Sentencing: 80 hours of unpaid community work; costs and charges totalling £940. Pet shop licence revoked. Disqualified for five years from keeping a pet shop (expired May 2022).

Manchester Evening News
The Sun

Animal Sanctuaries from Hell, Dogs, Hoarders, Pet Profiteering, Pet Shops

March, Cambridgeshire: Rob Phipps

February 20, 2015 misanthropic Leave a comment

CONVICTED (2015) | Robert Harry Phipps, born 07/12/1978, of Station Road, March PE15 8LB – for the neglect of 34 ‘rescued’ dogs kept inside a warehouse

Rob Phipps kept dozens of rescue dogs in squalid conditions and with no access to water

In late 2013 the RSPCA was given information that pet shop owner Phipps, who ran JJ Rescue, was keeping dogs in cramped conditions in cages at a warehouse in Commercial Road, March, and launched an investigation.

What they found at the premises were two smallish rooms each housing 17 dogs in metal cages. One room was a closed internal space without fresh air or natural light.

RSPCA chief inspector Mark Thompson explained: “There were serious concerns for their welfare, but despite several visits and a lot of welfare advice the conditions of these dogs did not improve and the advice was not followed. We then attended along with the police and a vet in February 2014 when police took the dogs and put them in RSPCA care.”

The court heard that the dogs were kept in crates overnight without access to water. Some cages had two dogs inside.

One dog suffered facial injuries where their cages were pushed closely together and they were fighting.

One dog later lost an eye because the vets could not save it following infection for a fight injury.

There was blood where dogs had been fighting and some dogs had excrement in their cage.

Phipps said he was willing for the dogs to be re-homed but could not get a commitment from the RSPCA that dogs would not be put to sleep.

He said he would rather have dogs in crates than in kennels, where they are “not happy” and “spinning”.

He said the dogs would normally be in crates overnight from 10pm to 8am. In the morning, they would be let out for water and fed.

Dogs would be walked two to three times a day and the crates would be cleaned every day, Phipps said.

He estimated he had spent thousands of pounds on vet bills to ensure dogs got the appropriate care.

Phipps said the dogs were getting an appropriate amount of food and exercise, and were well hydrated.

If there were two dogs in the same cage, it was because they were brother and sister and “could not be separated” due to their level of attachment.

Phipps was found guilty of:

Failing to provide a suitable environment for 34 dogs,
Failing to provide the dogs with an appropriate supply of drinking water, and
Causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by housing them in cages next to each other, allowing them to fight through the bars and cause injuries to each other.

Deputy district judge Boswell said: “This man had the very best of intentions but simply took on more than he could handle.

“However, this is a serious case. As an experienced dog handler he should have known that keeping dogs in those conditions was wholly unacceptable.

“Out of your sheer desire to take in dogs to re-home them, you kept your eyes closed to the conditions they were being kept in.”

Sentence: 12-month community order, 180 hours of unpaid work, £1,000 costs and a £60 surcharge. Disqualified from keeping dogs for three years, later reduced to 18 months on appeal (ban expired).

CambsTimes

Update August 2020

Rob Phipps continues to run a pet shop business in Station Road. He lives in a flat above the shop after being forced to sell his home. Alternative Facebook account here.

UK Animal Cruelty Files