Kon and Liudmila Petropoulos may not proceed with cat cruelty conviction appeal

Despite two days of hearings, a notorious couple convicted of illegally selling cats around Ballarat may decide not to dispute their conviction after all.

Kon Petropoulos and his wife Liudmila Petropoulos leaving the Geelong Magistrates’ Court in March, 2020.

Following two days of hearings, a couple appealing a conviction of dozens of animal cruelty charges may decide not to proceed after all.

In May, the RSPCA prosecuted Kon and Liudmila Petropoulos at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for running an illegal domestic animal business and for animal cruelty offences.

They were penalised more than $122,000 over 48 charges of animal cruelty and were banned from keeping or selling any cats or kittens for a decade.

The pair have appealed the verdict in the County Court.

On Tuesday, three witnesses were called to give evidence about the matter.

Each one said they saw an advertisement on Gumtree for cats around May 2020 and ended up meeting Mr Petropoulos in the Ballarat area to pay cash – in one case, $1650 – for an animal he showed them from the back of an SUV.

In one case he used the name Michael, in a second Manny, and in a third Milo.

Mr Petropoulos told his buyers he had to meet outside because of Covid-19.

One purchaser met him in the car park of Foodworks in Buninyong, another near Oliver’s restaurant in Warrenheip, and one outside Hungry Jack’s in Ballarat East.

He gave his customers documents about the cats’ diets and medical history, as well as breeder reassignment and change of ownership forms.

One witness bought a Scottish Fold from Mr Petropoulos and then days later accompanied her sister-in-law to buy a Ragdoll, only to realise that the same person had sold them both kittens under two different names.

That witness told the court that her cat’s microchip was not properly registered and after some time she began to feel “increasingly concerned about what was occurring”.

Judge Anne Hassan told the court that should Mr and Mrs Petropoulos’s appeal be unsuccessful, she could impose stricter punishments than the magistrates’ court had done.

After a break, lawyers for the pair asked for the rest of the afternoon to receive instructions, particularly as to whether the conviction appeal was to proceed or not given Judge Hassan’s comments.

The case will continue on Wednesday.