CONVICTED (2026) | Graham Alexander McQuet, born September 1985, with a most recent known address of Ritchie Place, Grangemouth FK3 8TE – kept starving wolfdogs in squalor and used shock collars on them.
IT contractor McQuet, who has a previous conviction for assaulting a seven-month-old baby girl, failed to provide sufficient care for his six wolfdogs and pet cat.
The corpse of an eight-month-old wolfdog, named Artas, was discovered in a freezer at his residence, with the animal missing a leg. It was later revealed in court that he had died from blood loss after trapping the leg in a cage. The severed leg was found in a wheelie bin and appeared to have been gnawed by another animal.
Inspectors from the Scottish SPCA (SSPCA) attended McQuet’s address with a Police Scotland Wildlife Crime Officer and found that all of the wolfdogs were fitted with shock collars and trackers, raising questions about whether they were domesticated.
SSPCA Inspector Fiona Thorburn said: “Provisions for the wolfdogs were found to be inadequate, so a statutory care notice was issued to improve conditions to meet the minimum requirements under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.”
Inspector Thorburn added: “The wolfdogs did not look or behave like domesticated animals. Therefore, concerns regarding the legality of these wolfdogs were also passed to local authorities and the Animal and Plant Health Agency to investigate.”
McQuet repeatedly refused access to his residence for inspectors to fully evaluate the premises’ condition but the authorities eventually gained entry after obtaining a warrant.
Before officers could execute the warrant, McQuet relocated five of the wolfdogs to animal sanctuary The Little Zoo in Wiltshire – which also operates Wolves of Wiltshire.
Gary Emery, director of Little Zoo, was horrified at the condition the wolfdogs arrived in, describing them to be “unsocialised, terrified, injured and in poor body condition”.
Inspector Thorburn described McQuet’s property as being “in extremely poor condition”.
She added: “McQuet was arrested following the discovery of a cannabis cultivation within the house.
“One remaining wolfdog named Bronn had a painful, inflamed wound caused by inappropriate use of his shock collar.
“Video footage seized from the property showed McQuet repeatedly shocking his wolfdogs resulting in the dogs yelping in discomfort.”
A cat was also found in the house in poor condition and a terrier dog was seen being attacked by the wolf dogs and in pain.
The surviving animals were placed into the care of the SSPCA.
Summoned before Falkirk Sheriff Court, McQuet was found guilty of failing to meet the needs of a dog and a total of seven wolf dogs between October 2019 and November 2022, and causing unnecessary suffering to a wolf dog found with shock collar sores.
The court heard that McQuet, who also works as a dog trainer, often left the animals ‘effectively abandoned’. There was little clean water for the wolves, who had resorted to drinking from a leaky tap in the garden.
Prosecutor Karen Chambers said McQuet had ‘deliberately kept the animals undernourished so they looked more like wolves’.
The situation came to light after one of the wolves chewed his way through the roof of his kennel and escaped.
Concerned neighbours – who had already reported the wolves fighting and ‘horrific’ howling when McQuet wasn’t there – called the SSPCA.
One of them filmed a video from the window of her home showing a large black wolf-like animal on a shed roof.
In a second video, the wolves were whimpering and making loud, high-pitched squealing noises as if in pain.
McQuet said in evidence that he fed the animals on bone, red meat, chicken feet and kangaroo, and apart from exceptional occasions visited and exercised them daily.
‘I would pick up droppings daily and jet wash the garden twice a week. They’re wolves, not dogs,’ he told the court.
Additional video footage recovered from the premises showed McQuet revealing that the wolfdogs had been transported from a Russian zoo using fraudulent passports.
Apart from Bronn, he stated the wolfdogs comprised a mix of first- and second-generation wolfdogs alongside pure Arctic Wolves, meaning they ought to have been licensed under The Dangerous Wild Animals Act, documentation.
Sheriff Craig Harris said he took account of the fact that McQuet had voluntarily signed over all his surviving animals and all had recovered from any health complaints they had in his care.
But he told McQuet: ‘I’m dealing with a sustained failure over a period of more than two years in relation to multiple animals where their needs were not met, taken together with an occasion when unnecessary suffering was caused to one, and you allowed a cat to live in squalid conditions.’
Leaving court, McQuet refused to comment.
Scottish SPCA Inspector Fiona Thorburn said outside court: ‘When we attended with a wildlife crime officer from Police Scotland, we found all of the wolf dogs were wearing both shock collars and tracking collars.
‘They did not look or behave like domesticated animals.’
Inspector Thorburn continued: “The wolfdogs have recovered physically from their neglect but behavioural damage from such poor conditions along with the inappropriate use of shock collars in their training will unfortunately remain.
“Housing these animals in small domestic kennels, from which they at times escaped causing fear and alarm to nearby residents, was cruel and negligent.
“We are extremely grateful for the intervention and ongoing care provided at The Little Zoo at significant expense to the charity. Without their agreement to take the wolfdogs and ability to provide the expert care needed I fear that the animal’s future would have been at risk. We would also like to thank all witnesses who came forward and gave their time during this process.”
Sentencing | £2,000 fine. Five-year ban (expires March 2031).
