Vet ignored rabies law to illegally import dogs
A VET ignored rabies laws to illegally import puppies to sell in the UK.
Viktor Molnar, 58, also ran an illegal pet shop from his home in Prestwich, Bury, from where puppies were sold.
Molnar, who was registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and advertised as a ‘mobile vet,’ was brought to justice when a retired teacher from Renfrewshire, Scotland, turned detective after she bought a dachshund puppy called Janet from him for £700.
The puppy was sick on the journey home from Bury so she contacted Molnar to request a copy of the animal’s pet passport.
She also took Janet to a vet in Paisley, where the puppy was estimated to be aged between eight and 12 weeks, much younger than the age suggested on the vaccination card. Bury council said as a result, the puppy was too young to have been brought into the UK legally. The vaccination card had no record of a rabies jab or tapeworm treatment, so Renfrewshire council was contacted and the puppy quarantined.
Council bosses there alerted their counterparts in Bury.
An animal health inspector visited Hungarian-born Molnar’s flat in February 2016 and found four adult dogs and five miniature ‘teacup’ dachshund puppies inside.
Bury council said Molnar purchased the puppies online and they arrived by van the night before with Hungarian-issued pet passports.
The inspector, a court heard, sought advice from a veterinary practice where the puppies were estimated to be under 12 weeks old, rather than the 17 weeks indicated by their pet passports. The council said it meant they would have been too young to be vaccinated and lawfully brought to the UK. Those puppies were quarantined.
At Manchester magistrates court, Molnar, who now lives in Dartford, Kent, pleaded guilty to offences under the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974 and sections 10, 73 and 75 of the Animal Health Act 1981, and to an offence under the Pet Animals Act 1951 for using his premises as a pet shop without a licence.
He was sentenced to a 270-hour community order and disqualified from operating a pet shop or a boarding establishment for 10 years. Molnar was also ordered to pay compensation of £2,686 to the retired teacher as well as contribution costs of £2,500.