Matthew Zachariah Taynton in court for animal cruelty
A South East Queensland puppy seller has faced court after dogs in his care were found with ulcers and infections in a faeces-covered shipping container.
Redlands Coast
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A Russel Island puppy seller has faced court after some of his pups were found with ulcers and infections in a faeces-covered shipping container.
Scaffolder Matthew Zachariah Taynton, 32, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday to 12 charges, including one count of animal cruelty and two each of failing to provide appropriate food or water and failing to provide proper treatment for an injury.
The court heard the RSPCA received concerning reports about numerous Shar-Pei dogs in Taynton’s care at his property on Russel Island. The dogs, which can sell for up to $5000 each on gumtree, originate from China.
The RSPCA searched the property and found a shipping container with seven puppies, an adult female dog and two cats inside it on March 23, 2020.
The court heard some of the puppies had ulcers on their feet caused by ammonia and the build-up of urine and faeces in the container.
Outside the container, there were 13 more dogs in an enclosure that had no appropriate shelter or bedding.
RSPCA prosecutor Adrian Braithwaite said the enclosure was too small for the dogs in it, and they were confined in a way that caused them to fight, and a number of them had wounds.
The RSCPA seized all but three of the animals and found that a number of them were suffering eye and ear infections.
An interim prohibition order was made in Cleveland Magistrates Court on July 27, 2020, that prohibited Taynton from having further dogs in his possession, but he breached that order and obtained ten more puppies.
The RSPCA learned the dogs were at Taynton’s new residence in Marsden and sent inspectors to the address on March 1, 2021.
They found eight dogs running in the yard, and there was a large container of water, but the pups were unable to access the water.
One dog was left inside the garage with no access to water.
The RSPCA seized the animals and found one of the dogs had an eye infection and broken teeth that needed to be removed.
Taynton, who represented himself in court, said he previously had been residing with a partner who he claims was the principal breeder of the dogs, but they broke up, and he was left to take care of them.
He said he was attempting to sell the dogs for money to help move to a better location.
“I put myself in a s****y situation,” he said.
“They were the say they were on the island. It was very, very hard.
“We got hit by a cyclone like three days before the RSPCA came out so we were in a pretty bad situation, but at the end of the day I put myself into it.”
Taynton told the court he had done his best to ensure the dogs were taken to the vet regularly when he moved to the mainland after the RSPCA’s first seizure.
Magistrate Louise Shepherd said she was concerned by Taynton’s “persistence” in obtaining more puppies despite the intervention by the RSPCA.
He was sentenced to complete 180 hours of unpaid community service. Convictions were recorded.
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