CONVICTED (2019) | puppy farmers Jacob Murphy, born 14 June 1992, Zoe Rushmer, born 10 February 1993, both of Poppys Place, The Street, Norton Subcourse, Norwich NR14 6RR, and Michael Rushmer, born 9 October 1991 of Home Farm, Low Road, Norwich NR14 6PZ. Also Jean Boyes, born c. 1951, of Church Farm Barns, The Street, Norwich NR14 7DW

Greedy and callous puppy farmers Jacob Murphy, Michael Rushmer and Zoe Rushmer kept 74 dogs and puppies, many of whom were sick or dying, in cages, dark sheds and a caravan in temperatures up to 30C.

The gang made £300,000 from selling dogs they claimed had been bred in a family environment.

But some of the “sickly and diseased” puppies died within days or cost their owners thousands of pounds in vet bills.

The trio admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Judge Andrew Shaw described it “as callous and mean-spirited a fraud as I have come across for some time”.

The RSPCA, which brought the case, said the animals were kept in “disgusting conditions” at Home Farm, Low Road, Thurlton NR14 6PZ. The charity removed 74 dogs, some of which were pregnant and had 20 puppies.

Some of the animals suffered from the potentially fatal parvovirus but were advertised as being healthy, socialised and treated for worms and fleas.

Dogs had an average price of £675 and the defendants made £300,000 from the fraud, though they claimed it was nearer £150,000, prosecutor Hazel Stevens said.

She described how when one of the premises was raided in 2017, dogs were found in cages, some in “pitch-dark sheds with no access to light” and others “in a caravan at temperatures of up to 30C”.

Mitigating, Andrew Oliver said Michael Rushmer was a cocaine user and “foolishly” bought dogs from travellers, which introduced parvovirus to the farm.

At sentencing, Judge Shaw described Murphy, who admitted three animal welfare offences, as the “ringleader”, while Michael Rushmer was “[Murphy’s] deputy if not his equal”.

The latter also admitted 10 animal welfare offences, offending while on bail, and operating a pet shop and breeding establishment without a licence.

Zoe Rushmer would meet buyers with her four children, now aged between four and 10, and was the “legitimate face” of the criminal enterprise run by her brother and her partner.

Rushmer was said to be remorseful and admitted four animal welfare offences.

Judge Shaw told her: “It’s only your children that have spared you from going to prison.”

Jean Boyes admitted the same fraud charge but only once took a litter of seven puppies to be inoculated and received a two-year conditional discharge.

Conspiracy charges against David Green, born 9 November 1969 of Homebred Lane, Loddon, Norwich NR14 6UY and Carole Rushmer, born 8 November 1959, and also of Home Farm Low Road, Thurlton, were dropped in February 2019. Carole Rushmer was however convicted of cruelty offences in October 2019 and given a curfew and two-year ban on dealing in dogs.

Judge Shaw said the fraud, which began as early as 2015, “strikes at the very heart of this nation’s love for its pets, dogs in particular”.

“To sell sickly and diseased dogs, so poorly that many do not survive, is about as callous and mean-spirited a fraud as I have come across for some time,” he said.

After sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Amy Pellegrini described the farm as a “puppy factory”.

“Families thought they were buying puppies who had been bred and reared in loving family homes but in reality they had been bred in disgusting conditions with little regard for their health or welfare but simply how much money they would bring in.”

Sentencing: Jacob Murphy and Michael Rushmer were each jailed for 42 months, while Zoe Rushmer was given a two-year suspended sentence and 250 hours of unpaid work. They were all banned from keeping animals for life. Jean Boyes was given a two-year conditional discharge.

BBC News

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On Friday 28 June 2019 “remorseful” Zoe Rushmer was hauled back before the court after Judge Andrew Shaw became aware of disrespectful social media posts she had made about the case. In one post she was pictured wearing the balaclava she wore outside court while boasting that she would “wing it”. Another showed her gloating about her “freedom” after being given a suspended prison sentence

The judge expressed concern about the balaclava photo, saying it “indicates someone who’s hoping to get away with it”.

Sadly, he decided not to impose additional punishment, telling her: “I’m not going to further your sentence but you need to understand that I came very close to doing so.”