TWO men were sentenced on Tuesday over their involvement in an illegal puppy smuggling racket between Northern Ireland and England.
Mark Anthony Hirst (46), of Lidgett Lane, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was jailed for four months after he pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by false representation.
Co-accused and dog breeder Sean Oliver McVeigh (49), of Kinturk Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation. He received a three-month sentence suspended for a year after he admitted supplying the dogs to Hirst to illegally sell in the UK.
Belfast Crown Court heard that Hirst was stopped on August 2, 2022, by a DAERA official (Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs) at the Duncrue inspection centre which is part of Belfast Port.
It was the prosecution case that Hirst ran a legitimate business called All Star Pet Transport and under EU laws he was required to produce transport certificates for each animal he ferried between Northern Ireland and Britain.
The official found 58 dogs in Hirst's van along with a cat which was being legitimately transported to its owner in England.
A prosecution barrister said that when the DAERA official checked the certificates they were found to be false.
#The prosecutor said each certificate must state the origin of the ownership, the place of departure, date and time of departure, intended place of destination and the expected duration of the journey.
"This is to enable the authorities to know where a dog is coming from and where it is going to. Mr Hirst was responsible for completing the certificates,'' said prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh.
"He could have run a legitimate business on this day but he was providing false information and it was not possible for the authorities to know where an animal was going. We have no evidence of where the animals were going. Anything could happen to them.''
Passing sentence Belfast Recorder Judge Patricia Smyth said that the case before her did not involve "cruelty to animals''.
However, she said, it involved the "deliberate undermining'' of a system of regulation put in place to safeguard the welfare of animals, specifically that the origin and destination of the animals are recorded.
"In this case names and addresses that you had inserted onto the certificates were fictitious and bogus.
"Although the animals did not come to any harm, efforts to ascertain their intended destinations were met with unsatisfactory responses.
"You declined to answer any questions during police interviews. In response to a direct inquiry from the court, through your counsel you have asserted that you had arranged to meet prospective owners at service stations in England.''
The senior judge said an analysis of Hirst's phone revealed no messages about meeting individuals at service stations to collect the dogs.
"The absence of a plausible explanation for the ultimate destination of these dogs is a matter of concern,'' said Judge Smyth.
"The fraud enabled a profit to be made from animals bred in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland which are then sold at a much higher price in other parts of the UK and Scotland.
"The dangers for animal welfare are therefore obvious and a strong message must go out that unlawful practices such as this will not be tolerated by the courts.''
The Recorder noted that Hirst had previous convictions for drug offences and cautions for dishonesty offences.
Jailing Hirst, Judge Smyth said: "Those who fraudulently attempt to undermine the system put in place to safeguard the welfare of animals are committing a serious offence.''
At a previous hearing a defence lawyer said registered dog breeder McVeigh "was having puppies at his impeccable kennels which he couldn't sell in Northern Ireland''.
He added: "There simply wasn't the demand at the time and demand for puppies in Northern Ireland dropped right off once (Covid) lockdown ended.
"There was a much higher demand in England and he knew he could transport dogs over there, get them sold and get paid''.
Judge Smyth said McVeigh was before the court with a previous clear record and an "excellent reputation as a dog breeder but your well earned reputation has now been seriously diminished''.