CONVICTED (2019) | for multiple cruelty charges Jodie Annabel Fairbrother (aka Jodie Lewis), born 30 September 1978, and husband Paul Jack Fairbrother, born 10 July 1969, formerly of Immingham, Lincolnshire, but now said to be living in Nar Fokak, Cyprus, with daughter Libby-Jo Fairbrother who was also initially charged.

Mother-of-four Jodie Fairbrother, whose last known UK address was Aberdovey Drive, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees TS16 9EZ admitted 10 offences of animal cruelty at 4Paws veterinary clinic – six of which related to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Her husband, Paul Fairbrother, admitted three offences of animal cruelty, including one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a British bulldog and two charges relating to animal welfare.

The charges were brought by the RSPCA after it conducted one of its largest raids in March 2018 at 4Paws in Killingholme, North Lincolnshire.

More than 60 staff from multiple agencies worked throughout the day to remove 160 animals.

4Paws, which imported 4,600 dogs from overseas over a 15-month period, operated an unlicensed boarding kennels and veterinary clinic after their licence expired.

The animals were found in “abhorrent” conditions.

Some animals were left unattended in baskets and cages for up to 95 hours. Many were kept in cramped kennels with no access to food or water.

They also had untreated health conditions such as respiratory problems or ear infections and untreated wounds.

The body of a deceased dog was found at the clinic and it was later discovered the dog had distemper, a lethal viral disease.

One dog was kept in a cage for four days without food and water and then ‘euthanised’ by Fairbrother, who had no veterinary qualifications.

Three dogs had to be put to sleep and two had Brucella canisa, a serious contagious disease that can be passed onto humans. Another tested positive for distemper.

A total of 144 dogs and 16 cats were then taken in by the RSPCA and Dogs Trust.

Other charges against the Fairbrothers were dropped at an earlier hearing and all 17 charges were dropped against daughter Libby-Jo Fairbrother.

A former volunteer at 4Paws told the local newspaper about the horrors she had witnessed during her time there. She described how animals at the veterinary clinic were kept in “disgusting” conditions, with 10 to 15 dogs being kept in any one kennel.

The volunteer also said that the animals had been “living in their own filth” as the kennels were never cleaned properly, and the animals were never looked after, with around 80 new dogs arriving at the kennel every week.

They said: “I used to help out at the clinic and some of the things that I have seen were just disgusting.

“There were 10 to 15 dogs all into one pen, and just roaming about. There was not one bed for a dog.

“Thursday is delivery day, when they get usually around three vans full of dogs from Romania brought to the site. But the most horrible thing is to see them left outside the clinic, sometimes for over a day, just sitting in those vans howling.

“The animals are always getting out and running loose about the place.”

Other local residents hit out at the treatment of horses at the centre, saying they had been left in a field during the heat of the summer without food or water. Residents said they had intervened to feed the animals themselves claiming that clinic staff had informed them they were “too busy”.

Numerous other residents alleged that after speaking out about the conditions at 4Paws, they received threats.

Sentencing | Jodie Fairbrother – jailed for 18 weeks, suspended for 12 months. Paul Fairbrother – jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months. Both were ordered to pay £500 costs and a £115 victim surcharge each. Both were banned from keeping or trading in animals for five years (expires September 2024).

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