160 cats and dogs saved after swoop on ‘filthy’ vet’s clinic

ANIMAL welfare officers removed 160 dogs and cats from a vet’s centre in a raid sparked by reports of filthy living conditions.

A convoy of around 30 RSPCA, Dogs Trust and police vehicles descended on the centre where rescue dogs are looked after from home and abroad.

The owner of 4Paws Veterinary Clinic at South Killingholme, North Lincolnshire, was in tears as dozens of officials moved in and closed down her operation. The site offers ‘low cost’ veterinary services, boarding kennels and dogs for adoption.

Owner Jodie Fairbrother, 39, a mother of five, has been on

regular rescue missions to bring back dogs from Romania and has been operating rescue shelters for 12 years.

Photos and claims emerged that dogs were housed in cramped kennels littered with excrement. Tip-offs from the public led to the RSPCA leading an inquiry codenamed Operation Cadmium, and swooping with a warrant on Thursday.

A former volunteer said that ten to 15 dogs would be kept in a pen without a bed and were ‘living in their own filth’, adding: ‘Some of the things I have seen were just disgusting.’

Chief Inspector Ian Briggs, from the RSPCA’s special operations unit, said: ‘The animals are all being moved into a safe, secure environment where they will be cared for, treated for any ailments and monitored for any infectious diseases.

‘They will remain in the care of the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust throughout the investigation. We’re investigating everything about this organisation.’

‘Tip-offs from the public’