Video exposes filthy conditions of Dr Geoffrey Warren’s Jamestown surgery
Shocking footage of a vet practice in disarray, and that saw him banned for life, has shown the conditions a tribunal ruled left animals and humans in danger. Warning: Graphic.
Upper Spencer Gulf
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The grim reality behind a long-serving country vet’s lifetime ban from practising has been revealed in disturbing footage released by the state’s administrative tribunal.
Dr Geoffrey Hampton Warren was last week handed the most severe penalty possible when the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled he was “no longer a fit and proper person” to be registered as a vet and could never be registered again.
It was the first time in at least 10 years a vet had received the lifetime penalty.
The community of Jamestown and Peterborough, where Dr Warren worked for more than 40 years, rallied around their beloved vet during the tribunal’s hearings, and once he had been banned.
Before the tribunal released their findings, Dr Warren pleaded with country media outlet Stock Journal and said there was no evidence for the allegations levelled against him.
The shocking footage showed what witnesses described to the tribunal as “shameful” and the worst they had seen in four decades.
The tribunal heard evidence describing the squalid conditions in the practice as “awful”, “sickening”, “atrocious” and having an “overwhelming smell of urine”.
Tribunal senior Alex Lazarevich determined the serious condition of the premises could only have reached the state they were in if “the unhygienic conditions had prevailed for an extended period of time”.
Photos taken upon inspection of Dr Warren’s Jamestown premises showed a build of faeces, the matted hair of a dog in his care, rubbish, medical supplies, dirty towels, empty food containers and other items strewn on the floors and cupboards.
Watch the moment RSPCA Inspectors search the property.
The tribunal ruled Dr Warren’s practice was in a “state of disarray and disrepair” and accepted allegations “drugs, veterinary disposables, rubbish and excrement were intermingled”, claims the vet said there was no evidence for.
Inspectors in the video can be heard describing how animals in cages have been left without food or water, and how one kelpie appeared to have been living in a cage for several days.
At the conclusion of the inspection of Dr Warren’s practice he surrendered 10 cats and kittens owned by him and his business partner.
It was understood the cats were afflicted with mild cases of ringworm, which the tribunal accepted was due to “the unhygienic state of the premises”.
Dr Warren’s evidence submitted to the tribunal centred largely around character testimonials and a 2500-signature-strong petition circulated among former clients and friends of his.
An online petition was also presented which said losing the services of Dr Warren to the community would result in animals not receiving his care.
The tribunal noted those testimonials and the petition was of limited weight because “it is not clear that the authors of the letters are aware of the full facts of the matter or have seen the state of the premises”.
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