Cruel puppy breeder is banned for life by court
A DOG breeder has been banned from keeping the animals for life and ordered to pay £48,485 costs after losing his appeal.
John Michael Joseph Walsh, 55, who has previous convictions relating to animals, was found guilty earlier this year of animal cruelty and the transportation and abandonment of nine young puppies on May 20, 2004.
Blandford magistrates had heard how Walsh, of Denton Hall Kennels, Low Lane, Brampton, Cumbria, left nine puppies in a parked car at Weymouth ferry port on a hot summer's day while he took another six puppies over to Jersey.
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Walsh appealed against his conviction on the grounds that the puppies did not suffer.
He also claimed, through his defence lawyer David Lyons, that there may have been a third party who attended the puppies but was not prepared to give evidence.
Judge John Harrow, presiding at Dorchester Crown Court, heard how Walsh had chosen to give no evidence throughout the original trial and the appeal except for telling Sergeant Paul Senior, of Cumbria Police, to let them prove I was in the car'.
The court was also told how Walsh, on his way back from Jersey, had answered a mobile phone call from police operator Dawn O'Leary in which he admitted he had left the puppies in the car but said they had plenty of food and water.
Charles Gabb, prosecuting, said that Walsh drove the green Vauxhall estate to the ferry port to catch the 7.15am departure leaving two small boxes, containing six Jack Russells, two Papillions and one Bichon Frise, in the back of the car knowing he was not due back until 2.40pm.
Mr Gabb said that the temperature outside the vehicle reached 24C and likened the heat inside to that of an oven or sauna.
He added: "You don't need to be a vet to know that in those circumstances those dogs were suffering."
The puppies were eventually freed from the car at 12.15pm after a vigilant parking attendant alerted her boss and the police.
Subsequent examination at about 2pm, by vet David Cumber, revealed that the dogs showed no signs of heat stroke.
Further expert evidence from vets Roger Eddy and Robin Carpenter confirmed that although these puppies appeared to show no signs of suffering from heat stroke when examined by Mr Cumber, if they had been left any longer in those conditions they may have died.
Mr Cumber added: "Dogs die in hot cars, they die very quickly if the critical temperature is reached."
The court also heard how Walsh, the man allegedly responsible for introducing Foot and Mouth disease into Ireland by smuggling sheep, spent time in prison for cruelly transporting 49 puppies and three kittens in nine carry-cases.
Judge Harrow upheld the conviction and sentence, of a 100-hour community rehabilitation order, imposed by Blandford magistrates, but extended the 10-year ban on keeping dogs to a lifetime ban.
Walsh was ordered to pay £48,485 costs.
RSPCA Inspector Marie Griffiths said after the appeal: "We are absolutely delighted with the outcome, especially the lifetime ban so that no other animals can suffer in this man's hands."
John Walsh has been convicted of animal cruelty
A DOG breeder has been banned from keeping the animals for life and ordered to pay £48,485 costs after losing his appeal.
John Michael Joseph Walsh, 55, who has previous convictions relating to animals, was found guilty earlier this year of animal cruelty and the transportation and abandonment of nine young puppies on May 20, 2004.
Blandford magistrates had heard how Walsh, of Denton Hall Kennels, Low Lane, Brampton, Cumbria, left nine puppies in a parked car at Weymouth ferry port on a hot summer's day while he took another six puppies over to Jersey.
continued...
Walsh appealed against his conviction on the grounds that the puppies did not suffer.
He also claimed, through his defence lawyer David Lyons, that there may have been a third party who attended the puppies but was not prepared to give evidence.
Judge John Harrow, presiding at Dorchester Crown Court, heard how Walsh had chosen to give no evidence throughout the original trial and the appeal except for telling Sergeant Paul Senior, of Cumbria Police, to let them prove I was in the car'.
The court was also told how Walsh, on his way back from Jersey, had answered a mobile phone call from police operator Dawn O'Leary in which he admitted he had left the puppies in the car but said they had plenty of food and water.
Charles Gabb, prosecuting, said that Walsh drove the green Vauxhall estate to the ferry port to catch the 7.15am departure leaving two small boxes, containing six Jack Russells, two Papillions and one Bichon Frise, in the back of the car knowing he was not due back until 2.40pm.
Mr Gabb said that the temperature outside the vehicle reached 24C and likened the heat inside to that of an oven or sauna.
He added: "You don't need to be a vet to know that in those circumstances those dogs were suffering."
The puppies were eventually freed from the car at 12.15pm after a vigilant parking attendant alerted her boss and the police.
Subsequent examination at about 2pm, by vet David Cumber, revealed that the dogs showed no signs of heat stroke.
Further expert evidence from vets Roger Eddy and Robin Carpenter confirmed that although these puppies appeared to show no signs of suffering from heat stroke when examined by Mr Cumber, if they had been left any longer in those conditions they may have died.
Mr Cumber added: "Dogs die in hot cars, they die very quickly if the critical temperature is reached."
The court also heard how Walsh, the man allegedly responsible for introducing Foot and Mouth disease into Ireland by smuggling sheep, spent time in prison for cruelly transporting 49 puppies and three kittens in nine carry-cases.
Judge Harrow upheld the conviction and sentence, of a 100-hour community rehabilitation order, imposed by Blandford magistrates, but extended the 10-year ban on keeping dogs to a lifetime ban.
Walsh was ordered to pay £48,485 costs.
RSPCA Inspector Marie Griffiths said after the appeal: "We are absolutely delighted with the outcome, especially the lifetime ban so that no other animals can suffer in this man's hands."
John Walsh has been convicted of animal cruelty
Cruel Man Banned from keeping Dogs
12 January 2006
A Cumbrian man has been banned from keeping dogs for ten years and ordered to pay almost £35,000 in costs, after leaving nine puppies in a car on a sweltering hot day.
55-year-old John Walsh, from Brampton, locked the dogs in his Vauxhall Astra at Weymouth Quay, in Dorset, while he travelled by ferry to meet prospective buyers, in May 2004. The car's windows had been left only slightly open.Walsh was also ordered to carry out 100-hours community work by magistrates in Blandford. The conviction has been welcomed by local RSPCA officers.
In 2001, he was jailed for illegally importing sheep infected with foot and mouth into Ireland,an act which the judge said had cost the country "tens of millions of Euros."
In this latest incident, the nine puppies had been left in carrier boxes, each designed to hold one cat. The court heard that when he returned from his ferry journey, Walsh avoided police and RSPCA inspectors by hiding inside a van.
12 January 2006
A Cumbrian man has been banned from keeping dogs for ten years and ordered to pay almost £35,000 in costs, after leaving nine puppies in a car on a sweltering hot day.
55-year-old John Walsh, from Brampton, locked the dogs in his Vauxhall Astra at Weymouth Quay, in Dorset, while he travelled by ferry to meet prospective buyers, in May 2004. The car's windows had been left only slightly open.Walsh was also ordered to carry out 100-hours community work by magistrates in Blandford. The conviction has been welcomed by local RSPCA officers.
In 2001, he was jailed for illegally importing sheep infected with foot and mouth into Ireland,an act which the judge said had cost the country "tens of millions of Euros."
In this latest incident, the nine puppies had been left in carrier boxes, each designed to hold one cat. The court heard that when he returned from his ferry journey, Walsh avoided police and RSPCA inspectors by hiding inside a van.
CASE UPDATE!!
John Walsh, of Low Row, near Brampton, was ordered to pay almost £2,300 to Allana Hamilton after she won a case of unfair dismissal yesterday.Mr Walsh, who was convicted in December of animal cruelty after he left nine puppies in a car on a hot day, walked out of the Carlisle tribunal after the chair refused his request to postpone the hearing.Miss Hamilton, 22, said she worked for him from March to October under a verbal contract and looked after 50 kennels virtually by herself. She said the day before she was due to leave for a holiday, she received a text message from Mr Walsh which said: “Sorry, I have to let you go, things aren’t working out. Get in touch when you get back from holiday.”When she phoned him on her return, he said if she ever wanted to see October’s wages she would have to find herself a lawyer, the tribunal heard.Mr Walsh said he had discovered documents which would prove Miss Hamilton was overpaid.Tribunal chairman Jeremy Hargrove said there was no explanation why he had not raised this issue earlier. He said Mr Walsh “put forward no valid defence whatsoever”.Miss Hamilton’s claims of breach of contract and wrongful dismissal were well-founded, he said, and she was entitled to three weeks’ wages, one week’s holiday pay and one week’s notice. This was increased by 30 per cent as compensation for the delay in payment, amounting to £2,294.Miss Hamilton, of Barnhill, Dumfries, is now back in the job she gave up to go and work in the kennels. Mr Walsh was ordered to pay a legal bill of £35,000 after he was convicted of animal cruelty in December. Dorset magistrates heard how he left six Jack Russells, two papillons and a bichon frise in his Vauxhall Astra in sweltering heat. Mr Walsh is appealing the conviction at Dorchester Crown Court on June 26.
Source: Cumberland News - April 28, 2006
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