Rich Bulldog Breeders Prosecuted After Investigators Exposed Their Illegal Puppy Farm
When you think of Bulldogs, instantly an image of a stumpy and short-snouted dog would appear. They might come in colors of gray, white, or brown and have an overbite.
That’s because, with human intervention, they’ve bred them that way. Although those features might look endearing for others, they present a lot of health problems for the dogs living with them.
In the past, bulldogs were these athletic dogs who looked less extreme than what we see now. Their main purpose back then was to look after livestock which they still did until recently before the unethical breeding rendered them unable to carry out such tasks.
This is why laws have been put to protect bulldogs to be made as cash cows where they are pumped for litters of puppies. These puppies are usually then sold for a good sum of money since they should be bought from those who are licensed with breeding.
But there are still people who go the other route and not only do it without a license but also force breed these poor dogs to mate and carry out litter after litter in a small amount of time. Those people only aim to keep profiting from those dogs and make their health problems even more prominent.
A married couple named Karl and Victoria Shellard have been ordered by a judge to pay a fine of £400,000 for being involved in illegal bulldog breeding
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The pair had established the unethical business in their country home and called it 'PosherBulls'. They were then reported to reap extreme profits after taking advantage of the market boom during the quarantine period.
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The couple were consistent with putting up adorable pictures to lure in buyers and would sell puppies for up to £20,000
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It turns out that they were breeding female bulldogs to produce more than one litter per year which is against animal welfare laws
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It was revealed to the court that over the course of their 6-year business, they've bread 67 litters of puppies
One of the dogs named Coco apparently produced six litters withing four years.
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With the ads, they've put up and the website they were running, the couple made £372,000 and assets that are about £1m. Investigators then took the initiative to bust the shady business.
When their four-bedroom detached home and two other properties related to the business were raided, they found 20 dogs along with a laboratory with equipment for inorganic breeding. Another 24 dogs were found in another property and an additional 6 dogs in a distant building.
The court found out that animal welfare officers had already visited them and requested that they apply for the breeding license at the start of their business. Instead, they ignored it and the investigators found a half-finished application form during the raid.
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The couple admitted to not submitting the license and to practice back-to-back breeding of the dogs for six years.
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Prosecutor Tim Evans, who was handling the case stated that even if they did acquire the license, the way they bred the dogs was still animal welfare offence
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The couple pleaded guilty to the puppy farm they were running and despite positive customer reviews, it was illegal
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The couple was fined for a list of things including £43,775 ($59,600) to pay court fees, a fine for both of them around £19,000 ($25,800), and they have to give back the £372,531 ($507,480). Unless they are able to pay it off in three months, they'll be going to jail for 24 months.
Laws are there for a reason. Dogs are protective but they can't protect themselves in these kinds of situations so they shouldn't be abused.
How do you feel about this couple's business? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
