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
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).
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.