‘Puppy farm’ worker tells of ‘horrific’ conditions at site

Aformer worker at a suspected Perthshire puppy farm has described the “horror ” conditions where animals were kept after more than 60 were rescued from the site.

Dozens of dogs and cats, including pregnant animals and three litters of puppies, were discovered by the Scottish SPCA at the rural address near Glenalmond College.

The Courier has chosen not to reveal the exact location of the property or name the suspect due to the active investigation.

Tiegan Walker said she visited the property at the beginning of October after responding to a job advert on Gumtree but did not return after her first day.

The qualified animal care worker was left in tears after witnessing the “horrible” conditions the animals were being kept in and reported the owner to the authorities.

Tiegan said she had seen blind kittens walking in circles, a German shepherd and her puppies forced to live in a cramped cupboard and a host of over-bred female animals.

The owner told Tiegan that at the height of business, before lockdown, he had around 125 animals living on the property.

She said :“I wasn’ t allowed out the back because the dogs were too aggressive, but from what I could see there was around 10 – but there must have been more because they were so noisy.

“Inside they must have had three litters of puppies plus their mums and then they had litters of kittens – about 20 of them.

“They were Bengal cats and they were kept in horrific conditions.”

The animal lover said the younger kittens were inside but the older cats were forced outside into kennels despite horrible weather conditions.

Tiegan added: “There were akita puppies and I don’t even know where the mum was.

“They told me the akita had killed her own puppies so they had taken them away and given them to the German shepherd.

“It was all just horrific. They had the big German shepherd, it was such a lovely dog, in a cupboard with the puppies.

“There was nowhere for her to move and there was no water for her.

“She was such a happy dog and for them to (do) that was just cruel.”

Tiegan said she also witnessed puppies living in the bathroom of the house and believes dogs were being allowed to mix-breed purely to create more puppies.

She said: “It ’s just disgusting. I just don’ t know how someone can do that.

“He told me that before I arrived there had been a litter of puppies who had all died from a disease. “I just couldn’t believe it. I cried. It’s so sad.”

A local from the area, who asked to remain anonymous , said he reported the property to the Scottish SPCA around 18 months ago.

“You can hear the dogs non-stop,” he said.

“At that time they were being kept in polytunnels, in cages, in intense heat.

“All the dogs were kept out the back but if someone came to look at a dog they would take them to the front.

“They had far too many dogs. If anyone went near the place they would all just set off.

“This has been going on for 18 months.

“I was one of the first people to contact the SSPCA and at that time there were about 30 dogs.”

The local added that during lockdown the property was being visited frequently by people buying puppies.

The Courier visited the property yesterday. Lights were on inside the building but nobody answered the door.

The Scottish SPCA has been contacted for further comment.

INVESTIGATION: More than 60 animals were rescued from the Perthshire address, above and right. Pictures by Steve MacDougall. Above right: Some of the dogs that were seized from the property.