Townsville puppy farmers fined for animal cruelty

Two puppy farmers have been fined and ordered to pay more than $50,000 in costs after a RSPCA raid found dogs living in appalling conditions and freezers full of animal carcasses.

Frederick Dart and Megan Ann Hajridin were fined $12,500 each after pleading guilty to 131 charges of breaches of care under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001.

Magistrate Brian Smith also put Dart and Hajridin on two years probation and prohibited them from owning animals for commercial purposes for two years.

The RSPCA was given unlimited inspection access to ensure compliance with the court order.

The charges arose from a July raid on a property on Dingo Park Rd, Calcium, when RSPCA inspectors seized 113 dogs, a cat, 488 rats, 73 mice, several guinea pigs and birds.

Inspectors also seized several dead animals that were located in a large upright freezer crammed full of the frozen carcasses.

The RSPCA described to the court how the animals were kept in small transport cages piled up three and four high in the defendant's 12m by 6m shed. Many had little or no water and there was faeces and urine on the floor and bedding.

Magistrate Smith described the conditions as deplorable. A number of the dogs required veterinary treatment for eye, ear and teeth problems. All required several baths to remove the stench from their coats and grooming to cut the overgrown nails and to remove fur matted with faeces and urine.

The RSPCA prosecutor said many of the dogs displayed behavioural issues relating to the manner in which they were housed. In addition to the fines, Dart and Hajridin were also ordered to pay the animal welfare organisation $57,161 for costs incurred in both caring for the seized animals and the cost of the prosecution.

However, this was well shy of the $264,000 the RSPCA had calculated for the costs of seizing, treating and caring for the animals, and the legal and court costs.

Mr Smith questioned the method of calculations submitted by the RSPCA for costs, and the level of charges they claimed for the costs of vets brought in to assess and treat the seized animals.

But Townsville RSPCA Inspector Cliff Singer was happy with the result because it sent out the strong clear message that the mistreatment of animals for commercial purposes would not be tolerated.

"This was never about money, it was about animal welfare, and it's unlikely to RSPCA would ever recover the real costs of its operations," Mr Singer said.

From: Townsville Bulletin