Puppy breeder Kerrie Maree Fitzpatrick guilty of animal cruelty over appalling mistreatment of 300 dogs

A woman who kept hundreds of dogs on an alleged breeding farm in ‘dreadful’ conditions – despite a banning order in another state – is facing jail.

A woman kept hundreds of dogs on a breeding farm in horrific conditions, despite a banning order in another state, all because of a loophole in Australia’s animal laws.

Kerrie Maree Fitzpatrick’s “puppy farm”, at Parrakie in the Murray Mallee, was not her first foray into animal cruelty, and the 300 dogs that suffered there were far from her first victims.

Dr Peter Salu, for the RSPCA, told the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday Fitzpatrick had multiple prior convictions in Victoria, where she was handed a 10-year ban on working as a breeder.

He told the court those convictions meant little, however, because Australia has yet to adopt a consistent national approach to the abuse of animals.

“And yet at the same time as those court proceedings are in place, she’s setting up the property in South Australia,” Dr Salu said.

Dr Salu pushed for an immediate jail term, saying every opportunity and allowance was given to Fitzpatrick to set things right at the farm.

“Yet the conditions remained inadequate … manifestly inadequate, dreadful,” he said.

Kerrie Fitzpatrick who was found guilty of multiple animal cruelty offences leaves the Adelaide Magistrates Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Morgan Sette

Kerrie Fitzpatrick disguised herself again as she left court. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Morgan Sette

Dr Salu said the situation was “out of control” and Fitzpatrick didn’t care “one way or the other” how the poor conditions impacted the dogs.

“This is a puppy factory, she’s wanting to make money from puppies and she really doesn’t care what the conditions are of the dogs in the course of that,” he said.

In April, following a trial, the court found Fitzpatrick guilty of 16 animal cruelty offences arising from a 2018-19 RSPCA investigation.

In his verdict, Magistrate Karim Soetratma said inspectors had found pups in “makeshift mesh wire pens” wired shut atop “a thick sludgy build-up of mud, faeces and urine”.

The animals had “no dry bedding, water” or “things to stimulate and entertain” them, with pups “sitting in empty containers in order to get off the mesh.”

The dogs, he said, were “drooling and trembling”, seemed “quite stressed and anxious” and “displayed compulsive behaviours” and “a five-week-old possibly born with no eyes”.

Mr Soetratma said Fitzpatrick and her ex-partner Colin Ross – who was previously fined more than $8000 for his offending – had failed to take steps to mitigate harm to the dogs.

Colin Ross was fined more than $8000. Photo: Ben Cameron

An animal behavioural expert, he said, had assessed the dogs and found 80 per cent were “frightened or fearful” toward people and “highly reactive” to their peers.

“(The expert) considered it obvious that numerous dogs were suffering anxiety disorders, potential obsessive-compulsive disorders, chronic stress and mental suffering,” he said.

“There were too many dogs at Parrakie to be managed by Fitzpatrick, Ross and the assistants they had.

“They had too many dogs to give each individual dog the one-on-one attention it needed.”

On Monday, Craig Caldicott, for Fitzpatrick, told the court his client had divested herself of any remaining dogs, in anticipation of banning orders.

Mr Caldicott said there was no suggestion the dogs weren’t properly fed or watered and a bout of kennel cough meant the dogs couldn’t be sold and the numbers exploded.

“She got in over her head,” he said.

“The driving force for doing all this was in fact Mr Ross … he’s the one that effectively translocated the couple to South Australia.”

Mr Soetratma adjourned the charges until August.