Lewiston woman Kerrie Maree Fitzpatrick jailed after breaching court-imposed ban on owning dogs
The banned puppy farmer caught with nearly 100 dogs told a court she was confused about the meaning of the word “owner”.
Police & Courts
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A mother of one who defied court orders after repeatedly operating puppy farms in multiple states – and was found guilty of animal cruelty – has been jailed for breaching a suspended sentence.
Kerrie Maree Fitzpatrick, of Lewiston, appeared in Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Tuesday to be sentenced after breaching a court-imposed ban on owning dogs – which did not stop her from having 88 at her puppy farm.
During sentencing, Magistrate Edward Stratton-Smith noted the magistrate who imposed the court order had given clear warnings to Fitzpatrick and had factored into the sentence her assurances she had “divested herself of all dogs”.
Counsel for Fitzpatrick told the court their client was “confused” about the definition of the word “owner” under the act.
“It is difficult to accept that your offending can be explained by confusion of the definition of owner in the Animal Welfare Act,” Mr Stratton-Smith said.
“You were prohibited from custody of any other dog other than (your two pets).
“These dogs were plainly in your custody, they were housed at a property solely in your name, where you lived alone with your child, 30 of the dogs on the property were registered to you.”
It brings to an end long-running RSPCA court proceedings against Fitzpatrick, who was found in possession of 88 dogs on a Lewiston property in October 2023, some of which later gave birth to puppies, and the number of dogs “ballooned” to 123.
Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to one count of failing to comply with a court order, one count of hindering or obstructing an inspector in exercise of powers and breaching a suspended sentence bond.
Mr Stratton-Smith said the dogs had been entrusted to another person following her sentencing in July 2023.
“That is a mistake, I am told, you have made in the past,” he said.
The court heard Fitzpatrick had also been subject to court orders from the Bendigo Magistrate Court, and in 2017 was disqualified from “keeping dogs or conducting or working on domestic animal premises for 10 years”.
In 2023, Fitzpatrick was found guilty of 16 animal cruelty offences arising from a 2018-19 RSPCA investigation. Magistrate Karim Soetratma said inspectors found pups in “makeshift mesh wire pens” wired shut atop “a thick sludgy build-up of mud, faeces and urine”.
They had no dry bedding or water, were drooling and trembling and seemed stressed and anxious, he said.
Mr Stratton-Smith revoked the suspended sentence, but found special circumstances – including the welfare of Fitzpatrick’s child – gave rise to reduce it from three months to 21 days in jail, which began immediately.
The 49-year-old was convicted but sentenced to no further penalty for failing to comply with the court order.
Fitzpatrick displayed no reaction as she was taken into the cells.
RSPCA SA CEO Marcus Gehrig said the offending was “concerning” after Fitzpatrick had been granted “the benefit” of a suspended sentence.
“This is a repeat offender and a contumacious breach,” Mr Gehrig said.
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