~Anne~ Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/cruel-wa-puppy-farmer-kept-dogs-in-underground-bunker-20140605-zrz23.html A puppy farmer who kept dogs in an underground bunker has been fined and banned from going within 10 metres of any animal.Katherine Lisa King, from South Doodlakine was found guilty on three counts of animal cruelty in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday and fined $11,000. On January 24, 2012, RSPCA inspectors, police and council rangers executed a search warrant on her property. Fifty dogs that were being kept on the property were seized and taken to the RSPCA, 12 of them were found in an underground bunker. The floor of the bunker was three metres below ground and could only be accessed through a small circular hole with a metal lid, about one metre in diameter. RSPCA inspectors said when the lid was opened there was a “stench of animal faeces and urine”. While there was food and water, the dogs were confined to total darkness during the day with little or no ventilation. All of the dogs found at the property, were roughly segregated according to breed in different areas of the property. The breeds included German shepherds, west highland terriers, King Charles cavalier spaniels, labradors, and Tibetan terriers among other breeds. Many of the dogs were found to be suffering from ear mite and secondary infections resulting from failure to treat the conditions by taking the animals to a vet. In his sentencing, Magistrate Stephen Wilson said “the dogs had been placed in an alien and terrible environment and should never have been placed in the underground bunker”. “There was no sunlight, no fresh air or flow of air and there was a stench emanating from the when her current banning order expires from bunker,” he said. RSPCA chief inspector Amanda Swift said this was the first time the RSPCA had discovered a puppy farm of this nature in Western Australia. “We were shocked to find dogs living in an underground bunker,” she said. “We are very pleased with today’s court result as it was a collaborative effort between RSPCA, Police and council rangers.” King was found guilty of being the person in charge of a number of dogs and being cruel to those animals contrary to the Animal Welfare Act. She was also found guilty of being cruel to approximately 12 dogs by ill-treating them by keeping them confined in an underground. She was also ordered to pay $20,000 in costs. When the search warrant was executed in 2012, RSPCA officers also found a miniature pony stallion and six or more chickens on her property despite a ban that was in place prohibiting her from keeping or having contact with animals for 10 years from August 2004. King’s prohibition order will begin on August 4th when her current banning order expires from her previous conviction. Chief Executive Officer David van Ooran urged people to be responsible and make informed choices when purchasing a new pet. “We have produced a useful guide for the public called the Smart Puppy and Dog Buyer’s Guide which provides information on how to best go about finding your new pet,” he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 This is where Izzy came from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 It is so hard to understand why people are so cruel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 This is from a while ago, but apparently the mother tried to leave the state. Seems revolting runs in families! http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/woman-on-warrants-for-animal-cruelty-accused-tries-to-flee-wa/story-fndo2j1f-1226474401339A WOMAN accused of on-going animal cruelty has been arrested after attempting to flee WA. Mariana Kathleen Smith, 59, had two bench warrants issued for her arrest for breach of bail after not appearing in court. Ms Smith was apprehended by Norseman police on Tuesday. She is in custody awaiting a trial allocation date in Northam Magistrates Court on Monday. Ms Smith's daughter, 41-year-old Chittering woman Katherine Lisa King, is also awaiting trial accused of animal cruelty. She is also accused of breaching a 10-year ban on having contact with animals, which was imposed when she was convicted of animal cruelty in 2004. The charges relate to a search warrant executed on Ms Smith's South Doodlakine property on January 24 this year. About 50 dogs were seized and taken to the Malaga RSPCA. The dogs, of various breeds and ages, were roughly segregated according to breed in different areas of the property. Many of the dogs were found to be suffering from ear mite and secondary infections resulting from the alleged failure to take the animals to the vet. An underground bunker was also found on the property. The bunker, which was 3m below ground, could only be accessed through a small circular hole with a metal lid about one metre in diameter. When the lid was opened, there was the stench of animal faeces and urine. Twelve dogs were found in the bunker. They had food and water, but were confined to total darkness with little or no ventilation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 This is where Izzy came from ... and she was allowed to keep operating after that? Or is that when she decided to literally "go underground"? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) NO Izzy that Whipitgood had that the RSPCA then took. Izzy was from this raid. Edited June 5, 2014 by OSoSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Good Grief - thank God they got her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Steve if I remember rightly the story for Izzy did not end well and the RSPCA was behind that sad part of it. The latest news story is not written well. I can't tell if it is the mother or the daughter who already had a 10 year ban in place. The Daily Telegraph story makes it sound like it was the daughter. Makes me sick to think that means we have second generation puppy farmers and animal abusers in this country. I want to shake these people and tell them to all stop being so f*cking lazy and get real jobs and make an honest living like the rest of us. And how do the courts actually get money off losers like this? Do they put them on payment plans for 30 years where they pay back something pissy like $20 a week? People like this should have to sell their properties to clear their debts and start all over again. That might actually make them feel some kind of loss and make up for the lives they have destroyed. No bluddy Centrelink benefits either. Most of them probably never put in a tax return to show what they have made through sitting on their arses either. Makes me so angry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 On the RSPCA page there is a video of when they first opened the cover to the underground room. The dogs are all barking madly and peering up at the people looking down through the opening. Poor little dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 They should lock the bitch in a bunker for the rest of her life.. Jesus, I hate people sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 They should lock the bitch in a bunker for the rest of her life.. Jesus, I hate people sometimes. Amen to this. This time I hope they enforce the pet ban EFFECTiVELY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 They should lock the bitch in a bunker for the rest of her life.. Jesus, I hate people sometimes. Amen to this. This time I hope they enforce the pet ban EFFECTiVELY. yep.. could not agree more. When i read this kind of thing my uncivilised persona want to rise to the top and do severe damage to the perpetrators of this cruelty... H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'd prefer a prison sentence..that or 20 lashes. I just don't understand how someone would think that was ok. Putting a ban on someone is not going to stop them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I feel sick even thinking about that. Imagine what misery those poor dogs have lived in and how hard its going to be to rehabilitate them and find them homes. I wish the worst on that awful family. The absolute worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 If people stopped buying in petshops and online, there'd be no market for these bast...ds' wares. I'd imprison this woman in the bunker, throw her food/water down the hole and see how she liked it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Stopping the selling in petshops would have about the same effect on crap "pet market" breeders as taking a cupful of water from the ocean unfortunately. The internet has opened a much wider market for the sale of "pets"... and that's rarely policed... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 True T - one of our local buy swap sell pages has a moron asking if anyone is interested in Chi pups as she is thinking about breeding hers.. $450 for males and $500 for females because you can make money out of females. It drives me nuts and as much as I want to rant and rave on their posts, there is no point... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryGirl Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Online sales of pets can be regulated and I'm not shy of reporting dodgy breeders to the local Council. Been doing it for a while now. :) I see an ad, make an enquiry, if it seems like they're a dodgy Backyarder or Miller, then I get as much detail as I can and contact the council with what I've got. This particular person needs to be put down that bunker for the rest of their life. It's disgusting that anyone would think this is okay. It's just not on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Online sales of pets can be regulated and I'm not shy of reporting dodgy breeders to the local Council. Been doing it for a while now. :) I see an ad, make an enquiry, if it seems like they're a dodgy Backyarder or Miller, then I get as much detail as I can and contact the council with what I've got. This particular person needs to be put down that bunker for the rest of their life. It's disgusting that anyone would think this is okay. It's just not on. There aren't enough council rangers to go follow up on the sheer numbers of idiots crossbreeding anything with a pulse and calling it by some stupid name in order to try to squeeze a little more profit from it... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) True T - one of our local buy swap sell pages has a moron asking if anyone is interested in Chi pups as she is thinking about breeding hers.. $450 for males and $500 for females because you can make money out of females. It drives me nuts and as much as I want to rant and rave on their posts, there is no point... Sadly I agree. Just tonight on one of our local on-line op shops someone was looking for a dog kennel for their Lab which included a photo of the dog. One person came in and said " Ooooo she's pretty I have a male if you ever want to have puppies?" Another person with 6 five week old kittens and two six month olds that were from the original parents FTGH, not microchipped or vaccinated. When it was pointed out to the OP that it was illegal to sell them so young and without chip/vacc the poster was abused and told to mind their own business Does my head in but you can't put brains in statues Edited June 6, 2014 by HazyWal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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