Puppy farming gang who made £300,000 selling sick and dying dogs are jailed

A puppy farming gang who trafficked sick and dying dogs into the UK to be sold to unsuspecting families have been jailed.

The smuggling ring made more than £300,000 by scamming innocent dog owners into buying unwell animals using fraudulent vaccination documents.

Police raided a Travellers' site in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and seized 54 dogs that were taken into the care of the RSPCA for treatment and rehabilitation.

The sentences of more than 18 years handed down this week at Aylesbury Crown Court make up the biggest ever combined prison sentences from an RSPCA prosecution.

The probe into the trafficking operation began in November 2019 when the RSPCA and Trading Standards received many complaints about the sale of puppies from various addresses around the Milton Keynes area.

Cocker spaniels, Schnauzers, Chihuahuas, springer spaniels, Labradors, beagles and poodles were breeds kept in tiny cages and in the back of lorries.

Pens were full of hazards with nails sticking out, sharp metal mesh and wires hanging down.

The RSPCA said three of the youngest puppies were kept in a dark, cold pen and could not see anything but four solid walls, with only dirty water and bedding that smelt of urine.

Some of the pets had bad infections and bloated abdomens from lack of food, while some of them were left in such confined spaces they tried to chew through the walls and floors, according to the animal charity.

The dogs were shipped to Britain from Ireland and riddled with disease when they were sold on the website Pets4Homes to unsuspecting customers.

The dogs were so sick some did not even make it to be sold, while others died after their new owners bought them.

At Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday and Thursday, 10 defendants pleaded guilty to fraud with nine of those also admitting animal welfare offences, while a further three admitted animal welfare charges.

Seven were handed immediate jail terms totalling more than 18 years.

Among those who were jailed were six members of the Cawley Traveller family - John Christopher Cawley, 25, Joseph Cawley Snr, 44, Margaret Cawley, 46, Michael Cawley, 41, Annalise Cawley, 23, and Joseph Cawley Junior, 44.

They admitted ownership of some dogs but claimed they did not know who owned others.

Daniel Yeboah, 44, John Paul O’Brien, 49, and Wendy O’Brien, 32, Rebecca Hall, 30, and Austin Paice, 32, acted as frontmen and placed a series of adverts under false names online to sell the animals.

The court also issued destruction orders for 10 seized mobile phones and forfeited £16,000 of seized cash which will be distributed to the victims.

Costs of more than £100,357 were awarded to the RSPCA and six dogs still in the charity's care can now be rehomed.

After the sentencing, lead RSPCA investigator Michelle Hare, said: “This was a sophisticated and complex puppy farming ring in the Milton Keynes area.”

She added: “The three youngest pups were in a dark, cold pen and they couldn’t see anything but four solid walls.

“The water was dirty and the bedding smelled strongly of urine. The environment was totally unsuitable.”

The dogs were cared for by the RSPCA and in foster homes and can now all be rehomed.

Sentences:

John Christopher Cawley, 25, was jailed for three-and-a-half years while Joseph Cawley Snr, 44, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

Margaret Cawley, 46, was jailed for three years and nine months and Michael Cawley, 41, was sent to prison for two years and three months.

Daniel Yeboah, 43, was jailed for three-and-a-half years, while Annalise Cawley, 23, was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Joseph Cawley Junior, 44, was given a 24-month community order with 30 days of rehabilitation activity, as well as 150 hours of unpaid work.

All seven were given a 10-year ban from keeping all animals.

Rebecca Hall, 30, of Milton Keynes, was jailed for four months, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £750 compensation while both John Paul O’Brien, 49, and Austin Paice, 32, were jailed for 13 months.

James Yeboah, 44, was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and to pay £1,000 costs and compensation.

Mary Ward, 31, and Wendy O’Brien, 32, both of Milton Keynes, were given suspended sentences and all six were handed a 10-year disqualification from keeping dogs.

Watch: Guinea pigs dumped and neglected following lockdown boom