Tag Archives: animal transporting breaches

Dogs, Pet Profiteering, puppy farmers / traffickers, kennels, backyard breeders

Eglish, Dungannon, County Tyrone: Eugene Daly

March 9, 2024 misanthropic 1 Comment

CONVICTED (2024) | notorious puppy farmer Eugene Daly, born 6 April 1982, of 88 Derryfubble Road, Dungannon BT71 7PW – transported very young and unwell puppies from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Prosecution of puppy farmer Eugene Daly from Eglish, Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Company director Eugene Daly, operator of a dog breeding establishment (DBE) licensed for over 200 dogs by Mid-Ulster Council, was fined after admitting to a charge of ‘transporting a dog not fit for the journey’. The paperwork held by Daly was also inaccurate and fraudulent.

Daly, sole director of Hillside Kennels Ltd and Daly Transport Ltd, was prosecuted after a consignment of his puppies was stopped and examined at Belfast Port.

Prosecution of puppy farmer Eugene Daly from Eglish, Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Pictured with dog groomer girlfriend Sandra Millar, who is alleged to sell puppies on Daly's behalf — Puppy farmer and transporter Eugene Daly is pictured with dog groomer girlfriend Sandra Millar who is alleged to sell puppies on his behalf

The case arose as part of Operation Paws for Thought, a multi-agency initiative led by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) aimed at clamping down on the low-welfare trafficking of puppies between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Checks carried out on exports made by Daly discovered that destination addresses held for the puppies were false.

Veterinary examination of the puppies found that some of them were not eight weeks old.

Many seemed poorly socialised, had extended tummies and a pot-bellied appearance consistent with worm infestation.

The bedding in the cages appeared wet and quite heavily soiled. This contradicted Daly’s assertion that the puppies had only been loaded less than two hours previously.

Daly pleaded guilty and was fined £400 plus £15 offender levy.

ArmaghI

Additional Information

Daly’s partner is Sandra Millar of Stiloga Road, Eglish, Dungannon BT71 7QH. According to the anti puppy farming campaign group Do Better DoneDeal Millar, a dog groomer trading under the name Happy Tails, sells farmed puppies on her boyfriend’s behalf, while lying that they are home-bred.

abattoirs / animal slaughter, Food Production, livestock hauliers

Shaftesbury, Dorset: John Pritchard

April 6, 2023 misanthropic 2 Comments

CONVICTED (2023) | John Edward Pritchard, born c. 1975, of Enham Green, Shaftesbury – caused unnecessary suffering to a group of young calves on their way to a slaughterhouse.

Livestock haulier Pritchard was in charge of transporting 35 calves on a two-hour journey from a farm in Sherborne, Dorset, to an abattoir in Wiltshire.

However, his double-decked livestock trailer was only designed to carry sheep when both decks were in use, because there was insufficient headroom on the lower deck for calves to stand.

When he arrived, the calves were unloaded by a member of staff who immediately noticed that the animals on the lower deck had injuries to their backs where they had bumped against the roof supports of the upper deck during the journey.

Many of the calves suffered injuries when they stumbled and fell down the trailer ramp which was twice as steep as it should be

Some of these injuries were up to 10cm long and an examination of the carcasses after slaughter revealed deep bruising.

The official vet at the slaughterhouse examined the calves and concluded that they had been caused unnecessary suffering.

CCTV footage of the calves being unloaded was shown to the court and this also revealed that the ramp angle for the upper deck was far too steep for calves to safely walk down.

The maximum permitted angle for such a ramp is 20 degrees but Pritchard’s was more than 40 degrees, with the CCTV showing the calves stumbling and falling down the ramp.

The court heard that to transport the calves safely and legally, Pritchard should have only used the lower deck on the trailer with the upper deck folded away.

This would have meant doing two journeys to the slaughterhouse but instead it was deemed he decided to put profit before animal welfare.

The prosecution was brought by Dorset Council following an investigation by its Trading Standards team.

Sentencing | 18-month conditional discharge; prosecution costs of £6,495 plus a £22 court surcharge.

Daily Echo
ITV News

Dogs, Organised Animal Crime, Pet Profiteering, Pet Theft, puppy farmers / traffickers, kennels, backyard breeders

Ballynahinch, County Down: Aaron Phillips

July 4, 2022 misanthropic 1 Comment

CONVICTED (2022) | dog transporter Aaron Phillips aka Pat Dale, born c. 1983, of Riverside Meadows, Ballynahinch BT24 9WN – caught with 44 dogs in cramped, filthy cages in his van.

Professional dog transporter Aaron Phillips, who traded under the name AP Canine Transport, was prosecuted by the CPS in co-operation with animal welfare officers from Belfast City Council.

He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to animals in relation to 44 dogs, including 28 puppies, found by police in two vehicles in Bordesley Lane, Redditch, on Tuesday December 8, 2020.

Phillips had transported the dogs, most of whom were from Northern Ireland, and stopped in Redditch to offload 16 of them.

He was accused of moving puppies under eight-weeks-old and which were not fit for the journey or in the company of their mother, according to court papers.

He was also charged with moving the pups in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering and transporting 21 puppies/dogs without carrying documentation.

He was further charged with transporting a springer spaniel which was not fit for the journey and of moving dogs without authorisation from the competent authority.

The 44 dogs were in just 12 cages. The majority were not big enough for even one dog to travel in.

Some of the dogs were unable to stand up, sit or turn around and the floors of all cages were covered in a thin layer of sawdust which smelt of urine and faeces.

Phillips was initially arrested alongside three other men on suspicion of the theft of dogs alongside animal cruelty offences. Charges against the others were later dropped.

Police seized Phillips’ vehicle along with the dogs. A large sum of money was found in the vehicle.

Pcso Katie Hearnden Fellows said on the West Mercia Police neighbourhood alert system: “All the animals were seized under the Animal Welfare Act, and West Mercia took civil action against the owners of the dogs being transported.

“There were two civil court cases, whiUch saw West Mercia successfully retain all but two of the dogs seized.

“The remaining dogs were also rehomed through the Dogs Trust or with the help of foster carers within West Mercia Police, many of whom retained the dogs once court cases were concluded.”

Sentencing | eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12-months. He was made to forfeit more than £20k cash found by police on his arrest under The Proceeds of Crime Act. Disqualified from transporting or arranging the transportation of any animal for three years.

Redditch Advertiser

Updates

Despite being banned from transporting or arranging the transportation of any animal until July 2025, Aaron Phillips continues to ply his pet transportation business on Facebook under the name KKC Couriers. He targets his services at unsavoury illegal bloodsports groups including Hare Coursing Crew. Screenshots below:

Equine Abuse, horses and ponies, Traveller Animal Crimes

West End, Southampton: Mike Levy

February 29, 2020 misanthropic Leave a comment

CONVICTED (2020) | Michael Edward Levy (aka Mike Stickland), born 08/05/1988, formerly of The Drive, West End, Southampton SO30 3AN, but gave his address in court as Metherell Avenue, Brixham, Devon TQ5 9QB – left horses in a field without clean water and shelter

Pictured is convicted animal abuser Mike Levy from Southampton — Convicted animal abuser Mike Levy is only banned from keeping equines for six months

Gypsy Michael Levy, who runs a company called Forest Falconry and Pest Control Ltd and has a previous conviction for fly-tipping, was found guilty of failing to ensure the needs of animals he was responsible for.

The father-of-five was also found guilty of transporting a pony in a way that was likely to cause injury.

Horse abuser Mike Levy with wife Maria Stickland — Levy with wife Maria Stickland

The court heard that RSPCA inspectors were called by the police after Levy allowed his ponies to fly-graze on land at Botley Road, West End, Southampton.

The land, which was littered with several hazards, did not have clean water, shade or shelter.

The fencing was also deemed inappropriate fencing for horses, which resulted in one horse getting trapped and losing a shoe.

RSPCA Inspector Tina Ward described the scene.

“A metal gate between two paddocks was hanging off its hinges,” said Inspector Ward. “The paddock also had a hidden dangerous hazard; a cesspit covered by grass and rubble.

“There was rusting metal and car parts as well as partly buried plastic blue piping. All of these had the potential to cause serious harm and injury.”

Police body-camera footage recorded a Shetland pony being unloaded by Levy from a white van.

Inspector Ward said the pony “had been travelling with a rope headcollar on that was loose. There were no windows giving light or ventilation, no partition to support the pony’s body, which is particularly important.”

She said: “If the pony was to lose its balance when the vehicle went round a corner or stopped suddenly, he could have injured himself significantly.”

Inspector Ward added where the pony had been standing was a number of items including a tin of paint and metal ladders.

“These also had the potential to cause the pony serious injury had he had fallen over. The method of transporting the pony was highly dangerous and would have also caused significant distress,” she said.

Inspector Ward concluded: “There were no windows giving light or ventilation, no partition to support the pony’s body. The method of transporting the pony was highly dangerous and would have also caused significant distress.”

Sentencing: Levy was ordered to pay a total of £1,233. He was banned from keeping equines for six months.

Horse and Hound
Daily Echo

UK Animal Cruelty Files