Puppy breeder Kerrie Maree Fitzpatrick sentenced for appalling mistreatment of 300 dogs
A woman who kept hundreds of dogs in a ‘puppy factory’ in neglectful conditions has avoided jail but banned from owning any more animals. See the shocking photos.
Adelaide Hills & Murraylands
Don't miss out on the headlines from Adelaide Hills & Murraylands. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A woman has avoided jail for keeping hundreds of dogs on a breeding farm in horrific conditions, despite a banning order in another state.
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.
Fitzpatrick was handed a three month suspended sentence on Tuesday and banned from owning any more animals until further notice.
Dr Peter Salu, for the RSPCA, previously told the court 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.
Dr Salu said every opportunity was given to Fitzpatrick to set things right at the “out of control” farm but the conditions remained “dreadful and manifestly inadequate”.
“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.
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.”
Craig Caldicott, for Fitzpatrick, previously told the court 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.
During sentencing on Tuesday, Mr Soetratma told the court Fitzpatrick had not learnt the lessons she should have from the Victorian convictions.
“Because if there was anyone who should have been obsessed about not being involved in a dog selling business unless and until you could comply with all regulatory requirements it was you,” he said.
Despite Dr Salu pushing for an immediate jail term, Mr Soetratma suspended the jail term on a three-year good behaviour bond, due to Fitzpatrick being the sole carer of her young son and not considering it proven she intended to cause harm to the animals.
Fitzpatrick was also fined $5000 and banned from owning any animal, besides the dogs, rabbits and birds she owned as pets, until further order.
Exposed: The unprofessional lawyers disciplined in SA
Misleading a client, misappropriating trust money and failing to pay tax, these lawyers have been found guilty of professional misconduct. See who ended up in hot water.
Fast and Furious: Spate of extreme speeders cop huge fines
A teenage P-plater was clocked at an eye-watering speed on a busy highway while a Mercedes was detected going 189km/h on another major route with thousands of dollars of fines issued.