Dogs at Cork puppy farm found in unsanitary and freezing conditions by inspectors

Dogs were found in unsanitary, cramped, and freezing conditions at a North Cork puppy farm where many animals were also left without any access to water or uncontaminated food bowls while others were also seen eating their own faeces, a court has heard.

Cork County Council Veterinary Inspector, Carol Nolan, said that dog breeder, Anna Broderick, was keeping more than 200 dogs, including over 80 breeding bitches, when council vets and members of the ISPCA visited her dog breeding business in Doneraile in North Cork.

Dogs were found without bedding or heating in sub-zero temperatures with water dispensers that had iced over at the dog breeding operation at The Hermitage, Ballyandrew, Doneraile where Ms Broderick had breeding licences for 50 bitches but where they found she had more than 80 bitches.

Ms Nolan told Judge Colm Roberts at Mallow District Court that during visits in October 2022, veterinary inspectors found overcrowding, unsanitary conditions with dogs unable to avoid faeces and urine in their dirty cramped pens.

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Puppies were found stinking and soaked in urine while many dogs including larger breeds such as German Shepherds exhibited worrying behaviours with some dogs standing on their hind legs like meerkats, others repeatedly jumping in their pens while one turned in repeated circles in his pen.

Ms Nolan was giving evidence on the opening day of an appeal by Ms Broderick against a closure order issued by Cork County Council on January 23rd 2023 after council inspectors fond that the operating of the breeding establishment “posed a serious and immediate threat to animal welfare.”

Among the issues identified in the council closure order was Ms Broderick’s failure to ensure the thermal comfort of many of the dogs including during sub-zero temperatures. In one shed, there was a bed level temperature of 0.7 degrees and no bedding or heat lamps were provided for many of the dogs.

The closure order issued under the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010, also noted that two adult German Shepherds were confined in a space less than six square metres when the minimum kennel size for two large breed dogs confined without free access to exercise was 8.5 sq metres.

Ms Nolan said a routine animal welfare inspection on Oct 6th, 2022 revealed “a whole host of red flags” with overcrowded kennels, dirty with faeces and urine, vermin “harbourage” and behavioural abnormalities in the dogs, a significant risk of disease and a failure to produce records.

Ms Nolan said that it was clear from the smell and amount of faeces and urine that regular cleaning was not taking place at the establishment. Some dogs had unkempt, tangled coats, with their eyes covered with knotted hair while one dog had untreated infections in both eyes.

A Bichon Frisé, quite heavily in pup, had no bedding, no heat source, and darted away from her “like a cat” when she tried to pet her which is not normal for this “companionable” breed which “generally likes to be fussed over and petted”, said Ms Nolan.

Another Bischon Frisé had alopecia on one of its legs while some Yorkshire Terriers were found “in a state of neglect” with overgrown coats and soiled litter and faeces stuck to their coats and paws while another dog was found with an apparently infected bite wound on its neck.

Counsel for Ms Broderick, Ray Boland SC, said his client would fully contest the council evidence by calling experts, but he said the case could take three days and Judge Roberts adjourned the matter until July 17th to fix a date, most probably in September, to hear the remainder of the case.

Ms Broderick is well-known in horse racing circles. She bred Forpadydaplasterer, which won the Arkle Challenge trophy at the Cheltenham racing festival in 2009 and accumulated €472,000 in winnings for his owners.