Sandra Yandell: Adelaide cat breeder avoids jail for keeping of 118 ragdoll cats in ‘appalling’ conditions
Her property was described as a scene of “extreme filth” that made an RSPCA officer’s eyes burn. Now this SA breeder has dodged jail after keeping 118 cats in “appalling” conditions.
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- Sandra Yandell’s property was a scene of ‘extreme filth’
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A Lewiston breeder whose property was described as a scene of “extreme filth and degradation” has avoided jail for her “criminal mismanagement” of 118 ragdoll cats.
Magistrate Yoong Fee Chin handed Sandra Yandell a suspended six-month jail sentence on Thursday after the 66-year-old pleaded guilty in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court to nine counts of the ill treatment of an animal.
The court heard Yandell had received nine animal welfare notices from the RSPCA in 2018.
However, an inspection on May 27 this year from a local vet and an RSPCA inspector found the property riddled with faeces and urine.
They also found three dead cats at the property.
The Advertiser has chosen not to run some of the photos taken by the RSPCA.
Mr Chin said the mother of two failed to provide adequate living conditions for the cats and
sufficient care for several suffering from a variety of ailments, including “significant teeth issues”, respiratory issues, an ear infection and conjunctivitis.
Mr Chin said Yandell “tried her best to the last available opportunity” and had given away kittens to children suffering from cancer as “therapy” during the course of the business.
However, he said the operation had “spiralled out of control”.
“These images (presented to court) speak for themselves. I do not need to detail your criminal mismanagement of the cats,” Mr Chin said.
“The cats had been exposed to the appalling situation for a sustained period.
“The message must go out that such cases cannot be tolerated.”
He said the property was “unhygienic for the occupancy of cats”.
“It was hard for the cats to walk without being exposed to bodily waste,” he said.
Mr Chin said Yandell had been “named and shamed” online and had received threats and “hate mail” since her offences were exposed.
He also said Yandell had suffered “personal setbacks” in recent years, including the death of her partner of 27 years in 2002 from cancer.
“You currently are not in the best of health,” he said.
“You have lost everything as a result of these offences.”
Yandell was also fined $500 for not following the cat breeders’ code of practice.
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Yandell’s legal counsel James Marcus said his client had received a “significant level of abuse” from the community.
“This matter has become much widely known in her community,” Mr Marcus said.
However, he said Yandell had felt a “significant degree of regret and anxiety”.
Yandell was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.
