CONVICTED (2018) | Viktor Molnar, a vet from Darenth Fishing Complex in Dartford – bypassed rabies laws and illegally imported puppies from Hungary
Molnar, who advertised himself as a mobile vet, pleaded guilty to offences under the Rabies Order 1974 and the Animal Health Act 1981, and to an offence under the Pet Animals Act 1951 for using his premises a a pet shop without a licence.
He was brought to justice after a retired teacher from Renfrewshire, Scotland, bought a miniature dachshund puppy called Janet from him for £700. The puppy was sick on the journey home from Bury, so she contacted Molnar to request a copy of the animal’s pet passport.
She also took Janet to a vet in Paisley, where the puppy was estimated to be aged between eight and 12 weeks, much younger than the age suggested on the vaccination card.
Bury council said that as a result, the puppy was too young to have been brought into the UK legally.
The vaccination card had no record of a rabies jab or tapeworm treatment, so Renfrewshire council was contacted and the puppy quarantined.
Council bosses there alerted their counterparts in Bury.
An animal health inspector visited Hungarian-born Molnar’s flat in February 2016 and found four adult dogs and five miniature ‘teacup’ dachshund puppies inside.
Bury council said Molnar purchased the puppies online and they arrived by van the night before with Hungarian-issued pet passports.
The inspector, a court heard, sought advice from a veterinary practice where the puppies were estimated to be under 12 weeks old, rather than the 17 weeks indicated by their pet passports.
The council said it meant they would have been too young to be vaccinated and lawfully brought to the UK as a result.
Those puppies were quarantined as well as Bury Licensing Service launched a probe into Molnar.
Bury council said the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has been contacted over his fitness to continue practising as a vet.
Angela Lomax, head of trading standards and licensing at Bury council, said: “Young puppies should never be transported long distances into the UK, yet underage and unvaccinated puppies continue to be illegally sent here from abroad – often in appalling conditions – and are destined to be sold via online adverts to unsuspecting members of the public.”
Sentencing:
Molnar was given a 270-hour community order and disqualified from operating a pet shop or a boarding facilities for 10 years.
He was also ordered to pay compensation of £2,686.93 to the woman who purchased the dog and £2,500 court costs.
Update August 2018
Molnar was struck off the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ register after being found found unfit to practice veterinary surgery.
The Committee said that Molnar had put “material interests over those of the profession and the public” and that his actions had posed “a real risk” to the puppies.
Due to the seriousness of the offences committed by Molnar, the Committee concluded that the case could “only be properly dealt with” by removing his name from the register.