A Yorkshire pet shop owner has been given a 20-week prison sentence after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
Andrew Garth, ex-owner of Allpets and The Bradford Birdman, subjected animals to “squalid conditions” and “prolonged ill-treatment”, Bradford and Keighley magistrates said. During the hearing, magistrates were told how, during an inspectors’ visit in January 2020, guinea pigs, rabbits and mice were found living in poor conditions, with many having died because of a lack of food and water.
Bradford Council’s Environmental Health Team had been alerted after receiving reports of animal welfare issues at the shop.
When environmental health inspectors visited his shop in Bradford they found a number of issues including food not being provided to several animals; dead animals found in bins and the freezer storage area; guinea pigs being mixed in enclosures with rabbits with no attempt at separating male and female animals; and no records being kept for feeding or health checks.
Magistrates said the case was exacerbated by the fact that Garth was providing college students with experience working with animals.
Handing down their sentence, magistrates said they took into account his previous good character and his guilty plea. They imposed a 20-week prison sentence and ordered him to pay a £128 fine when he is released.
He was also given a life-long ban from keeping animals, with a minimum of five years before he can appeal.
His defence told the court they would be appealing the sentence, and Garth’s detention will be delayed pending this process.
