A father and son who kept over 50 dogs in appalling conditions on a puppy farm have been given a 10-year ban owning dogs and ordered to serve 300 hours of community service.
In a joint effort with Moray Council and Police Scotland, our inspectors raided their property after concerns were raised about animals on-site.
Whilst 56 dogs were seized during the initial raid, two were pregnant at the time and we ended up caring for 78 dogs in total. One of the pregnant dogs sadly died giving birth at one of our animal rescue and rehoming centres. Animal care experts believe it was her third pregnancy of the year.
49-year-old Samuel Ronald Hessin and 22-year-old Samuel Arthur Hessin of Balnamoon, Crossroads, previously pled guilty to failing to provide veterinary treatment or a suitable living environment for the dogs, at Elgin Sheriff Court on 6 June. They were sentenced at the same court on 7 July.
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “Securing a conviction is a great result, but we believe anyone convicted of running a puppy farm should get a life ban on owning animals. Individuals prepared to put profit before welfare to an extent that dogs get seriously ill should not be allowed to keep animals.”
The dogs involved in the case were a mixture of breeds including Staffordshire bull terriers and Labradors. We were alerted to the dogs by Moray Council’s Trading Standards team after suspicious adverts were spotted on popular selling site Gumtree. Alongside Police Scotland, we executed a warrant with Moray Council at the property in September 2019.
A Scottish SPCA special investigations unit inspector involved in the case said “These dogs were kept in horrendous conditions which were ripe for causing horrific disease and suffering. After we seized them, vets found many were suffering from a host of skin, eye and respiratory diseases. Many dogs were carrying wounds consistent with kennel fights and we are in no doubt this was due to the stress caused by the conditions these poor animals were kept in.
“The stench of urine, lack of proper bedding and the amount of faeces on the floors and even in amongst what small amount of food was out, clearly showed there was no regard for the welfare of these dogs. All of this, combined with the lack of ventilation, meant disease spread with ease among these poor animals. This site was clearly a low-welfare puppy farm.
“Two of the female dogs were pregnant when they came in to our care. Sadly, the birth was just too much for one of them and she passed away during labour. We believe she had been badly overbred and it was her third litter in just one year.
“Thankfully, due to the care and dedication of our animal care teams we were able to successfully rehabilitate the remaining dogs and find them loving homes.
“Unfortunately, as long as there is a demand for puppies online this problem will only continue to grow and dogs will continue to suffer. If anyone has any information pertaining to individuals who are involved in this activity, we would urge them to contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”
We spearhead Operation Delphin, a multi-agency taskforce designed to bring illegal puppy traders to justice. It is supported by Dumfries & Galloway Council, ISPCA, RSPCA, USPCA, DSPCA, Stena Line, Police Scotland and others. Disrupting the multimillion pound industry is one of the Society’s main priorities, and its #SayNoToPuppyDealers campaign has received widespread public and cross-party political support.
