Horror find at Aussie puppy farm: 'We need masks'
A man was slapped with more than $140,000 in penalties by the courts.
Authorities have released disturbing vision showing filthy conditions inside a Western Australian puppy farm, after the business owner pleaded guilty to 28 charges of animal cruelty.
The 60-year-old man Bridgetown man was prosecuted by the RSPCA after a tipoff from a woman who was initially planning to buy a puppy for $5000. After entering the property she changed her mind.
Bodycam footage from 2022 shows a room crammed full of rubbish, with gnarled plant matter sprawling beneath the ceiling. “Oh my God," the inspector exclaims, before dogs begin to bark loudly. After shooing something from her face, she turns to another woman and says: “We need masks”.
Bunbury Magistrates Court was told the offender was not concerned for the welfare of the Labradoodles and was breeding them purely for cash. At sentencing on Wednesday, he received what will amount to a lifetime animal breeding ban along with $140,000 in penalties.
After sentencing RSPCA issued a statement describing conditions inside the home as “filthy” and “squalid”, adding the house reeked of urine and faeces. It said older dogs had mattered fur and there were signs the animals had been fighting.
Puppies found suffering from 'psychological harm'
Horror finds inside the home included one dog drinking water from a broken sewerage pipe and another stuck beside a bed. Inspectors said fresh food and water were not available to any of the animals, and the dogs were suffering from ear and other infections, conjunctivitis, embedded grass seeds and dental disease.
"A lot of the dogs and puppies were also suffering from significant psychological harm, as determined by a veterinary behaviourist," RSPCA inspector manager Kylie Green said.
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The offender was ordered to pay $28,140.39 in costs and compensation, as well as a fine of $112,000 – $64,000 of which was suspended.
RSPCA is urging Australians not to buy dogs from unregistered breeders as doing so can support animal cruelty.
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