CONVICTED (2021) | wildlife persecutors / backyard breeders Ryan Potts (better known as JR McAtamney), born 18 June 1995, of 7 Pineview Court, Gilford BT63 6AY, and Margaret Anne Doherty, born 13 September 1996, of 39 Edenderry Park, Banbridge BT32 3AY – caused suffering to two dogs
Ryan Potts aka notorious wildlife persecutor JR McAtamney and partner Margaret Doherty allowed their dogs to be mutilated and left them to suffer without treatment
Commercial breeder and serial wildlife persecutor Ryan Potts, who owns JR Kennels, and girlfriend Margaret Doherty had convictions of animal welfare offences upheld at an appeal hearing.
This dog suffered injuries consistent with animal fighting. She was so badly mutilated that she was put to sleep for welfare reasons
Potts was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs and permitting a banned procedure to be carried out on the ear tissue of a dog, otherwise known as ‘ear cropping’.
Doherty was also convicted of permitting the dog’s ears to be cropped.
The vile pair, who are also backyard breeders, had arranged for a 10-week-old puppy’s ears to be cropped
Enforcement action was taken by Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council following a complaint received in October 2017 from a member of the public.
Acting on the complaint, Animal Welfare Officers visited a property in Pineview Court, Gilford after obtaining a search warrant.
Upon investigation, officers were concerned for the welfare of a blue American Bully type puppy and a Black Patterdale terrier-type found at the property.
The American Bully puppy, who was approximately 10 weeks old, showed evidence that a prohibited procedure had been carried out on his ears, which had been stitched with blue suture thread.
Veterinary evidence suggested that the injuries had been caused to the dog inflicted approximately seven days earlier.
The Patterdale terrier had a severe injury to her lower jaw which had been left untreated and become infected.
The Council’s attending vet found that this dog was suffering and due to the severity of the wound the animal had to be humanely destroyed.
A council spokesperson commented: “Ear cropping is illegal. There is no benefit to the dog and it is purely a cosmetic procedure which is painful to the dog, carries risk of infection and takes weeks to heal. We as a council will do all in our power to bring enforcement measures to those that cause such suffering to a dog or indeed fail to care for the welfare of animals .”
Twisted Potts also gets his kicks from setting his dogs on foxes and other wildlife
Potts’ conviction was upheld for causing unnecessary suffering to the two dogs and for permitting the ear cropping of the American Bully. He was given a total fine of £1,000, ordered to pay full veterinary and boarding costs totalling £2,293.50 plus legal costs of £500.
Doherty was fined £500 in respect of permitting the ear cropping to the American Bully dog that had been registered in her name, and ordered to pay legal costs of £200.
Both defendants were banned from keeping any animal for five years (expires February 2026).
CONVICTED (2021) | Jamie Voice, born 8 January 1998, and partner Lucy Thompson, born 20 August 1998, both of Queen Elizabeth Road, Nuneaton CV10 – banned from keeping animals for life after cropping puppies’ ears
Voice and Thompson, who are parents, subjected their three puppies to an unnecessary painful and psychologically damaging cosmetic procedure
Lucy Thompson and Jamie Voice both pleaded guilty to one offence under Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act for causing the cropping of three puppies’ ears.
RSPCA officers visited the couple’s property with police on 27 August 2020.
Ear cropping has been outlawed in England since 1899, but is still being carried out illegally.
Inspector Beth Boyd said: “There were three XL American bully puppies inside, all with cropped ears.
“Thirteen-week-olds Khaleesi and Nymeria, and 10-week-old Enemy all had the tips of their ears removed. This process can be incredibly painful for dogs and can also cause long-term health, welfare and behaviour problems for the dogs.
The couple are now banned for life from keeping animals
“As part of our enquiries we spoke to vets who had seen Khaleesi and Nymeria for vaccinations and they confirmed that both dogs had their ears intact at that point, meaning the cropping must have been carried out by the owners after their first vaccinations.”
The couple were charged jointly with causing or permitting a mutilated procedure – namely ear cropping – to take place on their three puppies: Khaleesi, Nymeria and Enemy.
Beth added: “Police seized all three dogs and they have remained in our care during the case. Thankfully, they’ve been in foster homes where they’ve been doing really well and we’re thrilled that we can now rehome them all.”
Sentencing: 18-month community orders with requirements for 100 hours of unpaid work and a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement. They must also both pay £250 in costs. All three dogs were removed from their ownership by the courts meaning they can now be rehomed by the RSPCA. The pair were also disqualified from keeping all animals for life.
CONVICTED (2021) | commercial breeder Michael Dawson trading as Element Bullies, born 14 November 1971, of Tamerton Foliot Road, Plymouth PL6 – allowed a puppy’s ears to be mutilated
American bully-type puppy Riot was seized from breeder Michael Dawson by the RSPCA after her ears were cropped
Company director Michael Dawson, who owns Element Bullys Ltd, was caught with the mutilated American pocket bully-type bitch in a raid by police and other agencies at his Plymouth house.
The tan and white dog, called Riot, was found in a crate in the garden with cropped ears.
The dog was seized by the RSPCA and has since been rehomed.
Dawson pleaded guilty to permitting another person to perform a prohibited procedure or failing to protect a protected animal in June 2019.
Despite owning a plumbing and heating business, Dawson was not banned from keeping animals because he claimed breeding dogs was his only source of income.
He told the court that he had bought the puppy from a Scottish breeder for £5,000.
The RSPCA said that Dawson said to the magistrates that he had sent Riot away to meet a potential mate.
He said that he was upset when the dog returned with her ears cropped.
A vet who examined Riot found both of her ears, or pinnae, had been surgically removed and still had blue/purple sutures and pink antibiotic spray. Biopsies taken showed the injuries had been inflicted around two weeks earlier.
An RSPCA spokesperson said Riot was taken into foster care when the multi-agency warrant was executed with Plymouth City Council at the fore.
She added: “Riot was signed over to the RSPCA in March 2020 and settled in well to her new home.”
The RSPCA said ear-cropping was on the increase despite being illegal. It is allowed in America and other European countries.
The charity added that people were encouraged by celebrities who had cropped dogs as in a separate case shown above.
But the RSPCA says that it is painful and unnecessary, affecting the way dogs hear and communicate.
Dawson was fined in November 2020 at the same court for having illegal veterinary medicines.
Dawson and his company admitted having five substances, including prescription only antibiotic treatment for dogs.
It followed a raid under a search warrant by officials from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Both Dawson and the company pleaded guilty to possession of unauthorised medicinal products.
Dawson was fined £265 and ordered to pay £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.
Element Bullys Ltd was fined £1,500, plus a £150 victim surcharge.
Sentencing: fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £100 victim surcharge.
Dawson returned to court to face prosecution by Plymouth City Council for operating a dog breeding establishment without a licence. The court heard he sold dogs over Facebook and Instagram for 16 months without a permit. He made just over £63,000 by operating without a licence under legislation introduced in 2018.
It was reported that the council were also prosecuting Dawson under Proceeds of Crime legislation in an attempt to seize back the money he made through his business.
The council estimated he made £64,000, though this was hotly disputed by his solicitor.
Recorder David Chidgey rejected the council’s bid to ban him from keeping dogs or being in any business which bred or sold them.
He said: “There is no evidence to suggest that you have mistreated any animal at any time.”
Recorder Chidgey, noting that the defendant faced paying the council’s £7,000 costs and action under the Proceeds of Crime Act, imposed a two-year conditional discharge.
He added: “The reality is that the regulations are there to ensure that animals are protected.”
Urging him to get his licence, the judge said: “Get on and do it. Make sure you do not come back into court again.”
Gregory Gordon, prosecuting on behalf of Plymouth City Council, said the authority would use a ‘fit and proper person’ test on Dawson when he applied.
But he said that the defendant had three convictions for himself and his companies relating to dogs.
Dawson pleaded guilty to the single charge under the Animal Welfare Act of breeding dogs without a licence between September 30, 2018 and January 18, 2020.
Mr Gregory said that Dawson had run his business for 15 to 20 years but had fallen foul of the new regulations starting in 2018.
He said that during a 16-month period investigators had found evidence that Dawson had bred “some 22 identified dog litters” and that there was evidence that there “probably more litters”.
These were advertised on Facebook and Instagram accounts.
He added: “He said he was selling them around the world, including to celebrities in America.”
Mr Gregory said that Dawson’s attitude toward licensing had been “woeful”.
He added that no application was received by the council, though the defendant had called to ask when he was going to be inspected in June 2019.
The court heard that the average cost of a licence application, depending on veterinary fees, was £600.
The court was told that the Element Bullys was registered in Dawson’s name with Companies House and the firm was previously known as M Dawson Dog Breeding Ltd between April 2015 and August 2017. Both firms were based at Faraday Mill Business Park in Cattedown.
Mr Gregory said that puppies would be sold for between £1,000 and £1,500 but admitted that the claim that Dawson made £64,000 was an estimate.
Dawson’s solicitor Stephen Nunn said that his client “still lives and breathes dogs” and had two as pets. He said that the claims Dawson made on social media that he had a world-wide reputation were true.
He added that he was regarded as an expert on matching dogs to produce the desired colours in puppies.
Nunn said that the annual turnover for the business was £41,000, and nearly half of that was spent on veterinary fees.
He added that Dawson was a former addict who had “turned his life around”, building up first a painting and decorating business and then following in his father’s footsteps to breed and sell dogs.
Following Proceeds of Crime action by Plymouth City Council, Michael Dawson was ordered to pay back more than £100,000 of his ill-gotten gains over a period of 20 years as an unlicensed dog breeder.
In October 2021 it was revealed the the council had granted Dawson a breeding licence after he supposedly passed a ‘fit and proper person’ test.
Mike Dawson, his wife Tammy Dawson .. and their Turkey teeth paid for from the proceeds of pet profiteering and animal exploitation
Judge William Mousley ordered Dawson pay a total of £106,000 under the confiscation proceedings – under laws usually deployed against drug dealers or big-time fraudsters.
Dawson was told he must pay within three months or face a year in prison.
A financial assessor estimated that he had assets to pay the bill – mainly four properties, two of which he had inherited.
By now Dawson had racked up three convictions for himself and his companies, relating to dogs but continues to sell dogs online on a massive scale.
CONVICTED (2020) | commercial breeder Simon James Davis, born 25 January 1985, of Acacia Crescent, Bedworth CV12 – cropped American bulldog puppies’ ears with razor blades before selling them for thousands of pounds to celebrity clients
Breeder Simon Davis used razor blades to perform painful cosmetic operations on American Bulldogs
Davis, who traded under the name Lions Lair Kennels, admitted to cropping the ears of seven puppies. He was arrested on 30 January 2019, after the RSPCA and Warwickshire Police carried out a joint raid at his home address.
During the raid, they found seven kennels, in a converted garage building in his back garden, containing eight American Bulldogs.
The RSPCA gathered a range of evidence, including before and after photographs and medical appliances such as syringes, razor blades and forceps were seized from both properties.
A further nine American Bulldogs were found at Davis’s mother Sheena Davis’s house at 17 Chelsey Road, Coventry CV2 1DG including two pregnant dogs and six with cropped ears.
The RSPCA urge people to never buy a dog with cropped ears, and have taken seven of the dogs into care to be re-homed.
Sentencing: 18 weeks in jail suspended for 12 months. Ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and pay £10,973 in costs. A 15-year ban on keeping and dealing in dogs.
CONVICTED (2019) | Simon Broscombe, born 11/10/1984, of Bela Grove, Blackpool FY1 – had his dog’s ears cruelly and illegally mutilated.
Simon Broscombe arranged for his American bulldog’s ears to be mutilated to look more intimidating
Wannabe hardman Simon Broscombe had his six-month-old American bulldog’s floppy ears cut back to short points so that the animal would look more intimidating.
Broscombe, who is apparently a hairdresser by profession, paid £2,000 for the puppy, known as Tyson, who came into the country from Holland.
He bought the dog, described as his pride and joy, a £3,000 gold neck collar.
In the first case of its type in the UK the RSPCA prosecuted Broscombe over the ear cropping.
Cruelty victim Tyson and his mutilated ears
Broscombe admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the champagne-coloured dog by having his ears cropped.
He also admitted permitting another person to carry out a prohibited procedure on Tyson.
Broscombe admitted a third charge of failing to protect Tyson from pain and suffering.
District Judge Jane Goodwin heard that dogs’ears can only be cropped for medical reasons and the cutting done by a qualified vet.
The procedure can cause pain to the animal involved and in Tyson’s case, an examination of his ears revealed scarring and holes.
He was in otherwise good condition.
The ears are a very sensitive organ of dogs but some owners have the dog’s natural ears cut back almost to the skull for purely cosmetic reasons designed to give breeds like the Bully a “street cred “look.
When Broscombe was confronted by RSPCA officer Amy McIntosh at his home, she says he grabbed his phone and she believed she was trying to delete Whatsapp pictures from it.
However, the investigators did trace messages from Broscombe one stating….”With big floppy ears.He not the kind of dog I want.”
RSPCA prosecutor Paul Ridehalgh told the court:”This dog is a cross between an American pit bull and American staffie.”
“The investigators found pictures of Tyson with his ears intact and the defendant knew that ear cropping in the UK is illegal.”
“Owners want cropped ears because it makes the animal more intimidating”
“These ears were mutilated and he would not say who did it which obstructed the RSPCA investigating.”
Probation officer Amanda Kenyon said that Broscombe-who has facial tattoos- was devastated to have been split up from Tyson, who is being kept in kennels by the RSPCA.
Trevor Colebourne, defending, told the judge:”My client bought the dog via a breeder thinking it had had his ears cropped in Holland before being brought into the UK.”
“He would not name the person who carried out the procedure as he had been given a threat to keep his mouth shut and not be a grass.”
Sentencing Broscombe the judge told him: ”Despite your claim to be a responsible animal lover you became involved in a seedy operation which was a deliberate attempt to cause suffering.”
“You will not name the vet you claim was involved and this dog will have suffered for up to five days.
Sentencing: 12-week jail term suspended for 18 months. Ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay £715 court costs). Banned from keeping any animal for seven years (expires November 2026) .
CONVICTED (2019) | Martin Carter, born, c 1986, of Mercers Meadow, Keresley End, Coventry CV7 8RF – stole a dog from Birmingham Dogs Home and cut off his ears to avoid capture.
Mastiff cross Marley was stolen from Birmingham Dogs Home by his callous former owner, Martin Carter.
The court heard that Martin Carter stole the three-year-old Mastiff cross – known as Marley – during a burglary at Birmingham Dogs Home in November 2017.
Birmingham Dogs Home never gave up searching for Marley and released stills from CCTV footage in the hope of identifying the thief
Staff at charity never gave up the search for the pooch and after a number of appeals police recovered Marley from an address in Keresley, Coventry.
The court was also told that cruel Carter had arranged for the dog’s ears to be surgically cropped off in an attempt to conceal his identity.
He even had the dog’s microchip surgically removed and replaced with another.
Marley pictured before his ears were cruelly mutilated by his former owner, Martin Carter
Carter’s court appearance came after a police investigation across the West Mercia, Warwickshire and West Midlands Police regions.
An application by the prosecution for Carter to be disqualified from owning animals again was not granted.
Sentencing | six-month custodial sentence for handling stolen goods and three months for the animal offence – to run concurrently.While an application by the prosecution for Carter to be disqualified from keeping animals was not initially granted, this was overturned on appeal in November 2019 and he is banned from keeping animals for life.
CONVICTED (2019) | backyard breeders Dawn Veronica Hillbeck, born 6 August 1993, and partner Louise Marie Hillbeck, born 21 August 1995, formerly of Whisgills, Newcastleton TD9 and more recently Cambridge Road, Bromborough, Wirral CH62 7JA – arranged for illegal ear cropping on an American Bully puppy
Backyard breeders Dawn (left) and Louise Hillbeck gave their puppy a painful botched ear cropping job, stitched up with fishing line, so she was worth more money.
Dawn and Louise Hillbeck, who traded under the name BeckzBulliez, admitted being involved in the ear cropping of a puppy named Russia. The pair pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges as a sheriff described the operation on Russia as a “butcher’s job”.
Four-month-old Russia had her ears chopped off and stitched with fishing wire, leaving her in pain with severely infected wounds
A vet who inspected the wounds of the pup said it had been carried out for “cosmetic” purposes and added it was “needless mutilation”.
Dawn Hillbeck pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to prevent the ear flaps being removed on a puppy under her care.
Louise Hillbeck admitted permitting Russia to be taken out of Scotland for the prohibited procedure.
The couple kept a number of American bully dogs with cropped ears at their home in Roxburghshire, Scotland.
The offence happened when the women were breeding American bullies – which sell for £5,000 each – at their then home in Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders.
Jedburgh Sheriff Court was told that ear-cropping was banned in most of Europe but was still allowed in the United States.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser explained that the American Bully was a new breed established in the 1990s from an American Pit Bull Terrier and an American Staffordshire terrier.
He said: “They are very strong looking dogs and some owners have their ears cropped for cosmetic reasons which makes them look mean and aggressive.”
Mr Fraser said the Scottish SPCA received information that the Hillbecks were involved in ear-cropping and went to their home in Newcastleton in April 2018 when they found Russia had recently had both earflaps removed.
He explained a nylon-type material had been used to stitch the wounds but they had been put in too tightly, the wounds were red and the dog looked in pain.
Mr Fraser said: “They failed to seek veterinary treatment for the wounds. One vet referred to it as cosmetic needless mutilation.”
The fiscal added he would be seeking an order disqualifying the women from owning animals due to their behaviour.
Russia was signed over to the Scottish SPCA during the investigation.
The women claimed the idea to ear crop the dog came from the co-owner, John Paton of breeding operation New Generation Bullies, who said they would need to do it for Russia if the dog was to do well in American Bully display shows.
Dawn Hillbeck’s lawyer said his client had been told the ear-cropping could be done in Poland where it was legal, but it was not stated in court where the operation had actually happened.
He said: “The pair have been naive in this to a certain extent. They were also told it would be good for the hygiene of the dog as well.
“They have learned their lesson. Disqualifying them from owing animals would be disproportionate.”
The court was told that Dawn Hillbeck owned four dogs and a horse which she would have to give up if she was banned.
On studying pictures of the dog’s wounds Sheriff Donald Ferguson described them as a “butcher’s job” and said the women knew full well it was illegal and the dog had suffered.
He added: “This was totally wrong and this animal suffered. On top of that you were doing it for profit.
“At the end of the day you were looking after this animal and it was your responsibility to look after it within the law and on a proper basis.”
Afterwards a Scottish SPCA spokeswoman said there was a growing trend in ear-cropped American bullies.
She explained: “We are pleased with the outcome of this case.
“Two years ago we didn’t have a single American bully in our care. However we are now seeing a worrying increase in the number of these dogs seized as a result of our investigations.
“The recent increase is entirely down to the current trend to own these dogs as a status pet.
“In the UK any surgical procedure carried out for purely aesthetic purposes is illegal. Ear cropping is one of these procedures.”
Sentencing: one-year Community Payback Order of 80 hours of unpaid work; five year disqualification order from breeding or dealing with animals (expires March 2024). Dawn Hillbeck is allowed to keep her four dogs and a horse subject to Scottish SPCA or RSPCA inspection.
CONVICTED (2018) | Harrison MacUillin (aka Harry McQuillan), born 26 July 1995, of Warrenpoint Road, Newry BT34 2PN – arranged to have a dog’s ears cropped, leaving her in pain.
Irresponsible MacUillin, who runs a company named Harry’s Valeting, was convicted on 21 May 2018 in Newry Magistrates Court of offences under Sections 4, 5 and 9 of the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011.
Charges under the provisions of the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011 were brought by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council against MacUillin, in relation to one dog in his care.
He was charged with the offence of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog, permitting another person to carry out a prohibited procedure on the dog by cropping the sensitive tissue of the dog’s ears and for failure to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of the dog were being met including protecting the dog from pain, injury and suffering.
The Council received a complaint which alleged that a dog who had her ears cropped had been taken into the USPCA hospital in Newry after she had been found straying.
The animal was taken into the possession of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council by the Animal Welfare Officer and given appropriate veterinary treatment.
The dog was later successfully rehomed after she recovered from her injuries.
Sentencing: fined £600 and ordered to pay costs of £220. Five-year ban on owning animals (expires May 2023).
CONVICTED (2018) | Clint Rimanoczy, born 6 February 1989, of Milton Close, Horton, Slough SL3 9PP – cut off the ears and tails of two puppies
Clint Rimanoczy (misspelt as Rimanaczy in linked article) was sentenced at Slough Magistrates’ Court on Friday, December 8, 2017, for carrying out a prohibited procedure on an animal.
The charge relates to an incident on November 23, 2016, involving the cutting off of the ears and tails of two cane corso puppies.
Rimanoczy also admitted to a separate charge of removing whole/part of a dog’s tail and a third charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by failing to seek veterinary assistance.
Sentencing | 18 weeks in jail. Costs/charges of £7,056.28. Banned from keeping animals for 20 years. Deprivation order on a dog and her two puppies.
CONVICTED (2017) | backyard breeder Leanne Aretha Fallow (aka Leanne Norster), born 22/09/1977, of The Greenway, Middlesbrough TS3 9NF – allowed three Serbian Mastiffs to live in such appalling conditions their fur fell out and their skin turned red raw
Fallow, a mother-of-five and already a grandmother at aged 39, left her pets in an appalling state of neglect.
Having been alerted by a picture posted to Facebook, officials visited Fallow’s home where they found three Serbian Mastiffs suffering huge discomfort. The dogs’ fur had fallen out and their skin had turned red raw, a condition so agonising they began to bite their own flesh.
Leanne Fallow left her animals in an appalling state of neglect
“Two vets have certified that animals in this case have been suffering substantially,” said John Ellwood, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA.
“They were suffering from mange and had been self traumatizing themselves (by) scratching themselves and biting themselves and had thereby suffered secondary bacterial infection.”
He added one puppy was in a “very bad condition”, adding: “She had areas of skin that were open and sores and lots of crusty areas on her face.
“Her paws were swollen and inflamed – the inspector was very concerned about the way the animals were being kept.”
Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard the puppies’ mum, Sheba, was “underweight” and along with her puppies had a untreated “terrible skin condition.”
But the prosecution claimed Fallow used Sheba to breed several puppies, a process Mr Ellwood said was “highly suspicious”.
“The defendant claims not to know how her bitch became pregnant and who the father of her puppies was,” he said, adding Fallow claimed she gave away “a number of” puppies to strangers by the time the investigation launched.
The RSPCA say she allowed the dog to breed to sell the dogs on, with the court hearing she had spoken on Facebook with a banned dog dealer to flog the pups.
“The defendant’s account appears to be that a large dog became pregnant and she does not know where or why and that she gave away some of the puppies to people she does not even know or remember,” added the prosecutor.
“This appears to be a lie.
“She has on her Facebook a photograph or the mother of the puppies in her outhouse with a large male Serbian mastiff with mutilated ears.”
That mutilation was often carried out with Stanley knives in the breed to make them look “fierce”.
One of the puppies rescued from a life of misery with vile abuser Leanne Fallow
This was first noticed by kindly Glynn Dack who helped raise the alarm after believing to have seen the “mutilated” puppies’ father with Sheba.
He took one puppy home last August after spotting their awful condition to try and nurse it back to health, despite having no intention of keeping it.
But Fallow, who according to her solicitor is an “animal lover”, came around to take it back.
However he was concerned enough to raise the alarm to the RSPCA, who also received reports from others, including a Middlesbrough Council officer, with police seizing the animals who have since recovered.
Fallow admitted four offences of causing unnecessary suffering, with Mr Elwood adding she caused “prolonged neglect” for commercial gain.
Sentence: 12 weeks’ custody, suspended for a year; £250 costs, £180 vet costs and a £115 charge; deprivation order for family dog Sheba; banned from keeping animals for 5 years (expired February 2022).
