State solicitor’s mother convicted of running an illegal puppy farm
THE mother of a State Solicitor who was convicted of operating an illegal puppy farm for over a decade claimed she was ‘ignorant of the law’ in court this week.
Maureen Mahon was fined €1,600 after she pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed dog breeding establishment at her home at Mill House, Lugmore, Geashill, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Tullamore District Court heard the defendant, who is the mother of Offaly State Solicitor Sandra Mahon, had been breeding dogs since 2010.
The puppy farm was closed by Offaly County Council following inspections on January 22 and January 25 last year, when a large number of dogs and puppies were removed from the premises.
At an initial hearing on Monday, Offaly county vet Inspector Aiden Grant said he was satisfied the operation of the puppy farm posed a threat to animal welfare.
When asked by Judge John King if the dogs were in good condition, Mr Grant replied: ‘No, there were a number of concerns raised.
‘A number of them were matted. Their coats were matted, there were dental issues and ear issues.’
Mr Grant told the court the legal obligation to register the property as a dog-breeding establishment came into effect in 2012. He said this meant Ms Mahon would have been subject to periodical inspections if she had registered as required by law.
When asked if Ms Mahon had ever registered as a breeder, Mr Grant said she had not, and that she ‘refused to apply to register under the Dog Breeding Establishment Act’. The vet also said he was unable to determine the scale of the breeding operation.
‘No records of births, deaths, movements or sales were kept,’ he told the court.
When the judge asked if she had registered her business with the Revenue Commissioner, Ms Mahon’s solicitor Mark Cooney said: ‘This was a business that developed somewhat naturally.’
And when Judge King asked Mr Grant if she had refused to allow inspectors access to the property he replied: ‘Yes, on several occasions.’ Judge King then ordered an inspection of the premises be carried out that same evening and adjourned the hearing until Wednesday for sentencing.
A short time later Mr Grant, accompanied by Offaly Dog Warden Michelle Fox and an authorised ISPCA officer, arrived at Mill House to carry out the inspection, but were initially prevented from gaining access.
After a two-hour stand-off during which gardaí were contacted by local authorities, the inspectors eventually gained access to the premises by scaling a wall to enter the grounds.
Inside, they accessed the barn using a bolt cutter in the presence of gardaí. One female dog on the premises was taken into the care of the ISPCA, pictured inset below.
The incident was raised in court when it sat again on Wednesday. Ms Mahon’s solicitor said his client indicated on Monday that she would facilitate the inspection at noon the following day, but ‘unfortunately’ the council officials proceeded immediately to her premises with media ‘in tow’.
Mr Cooney then raised an issue surrounding media coverage of the case, which he said was of ‘huge concern’ to his client because of ‘her daughter’s position’.
Outlining his client’s history as a breeder, Mr Cooney said she
‘It was a business that developed naturally’
His client ‘acted in ignorance of the law’
‘started off with boarding kennels but found that difficult to run in terms of people coming and going and then went into dog breeding prior to the 2010 Act’.
He accepted his client continued breeding after the 2010 Act ‘in ignorance of the law’, which he accepted was no defence.
Mr Cooney said she voluntarily surrendered dogs at the premises in January last year.
The court heard the Dog Breeding Establishment registration fee, based on the number of animals found on the property, would have been in the region of €1,600 a year.
According to the closure notice issued to Ms Mahon’s premises, 44 breeding females, six litters of pups and nine adult males were recorded at that time.
The closure notice also noted none of the dogs were licensed or identified with a microchip. No sales records or transfer of dogs from the premises were available on request.
It also stated no registration was in place or applied for and that there were no measures in place to prevent the spread of disease.
Mr Cooney added: ‘She always had dogs and will continue having a number of dogs but will not be breaching any regulations again.’
Judge King imposed a fine of €1,600 fine and €900 costs and gave Ms Mahon six months to pay.