A man from Ingol allowed his dogs’ ears to be cropped illegally and left them in their own faeces and urine.
Nine dogs and eight puppies were discovered at the home of Quarn Gonzales at Colwyn Place in Ingol when the property was raided in September 2022.
It followed intelligence gathered by the RSPCA from Gonzales’ social media accounts showing images of young dogs with cropped ears. Earlier pictures and videos of the animals, which he bred himself, had shown their ears intact.
Read more: Future of Claire’s in Preston in doubt as company set to appoint administrators
Gonzales 32 was sentenced at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court last Friday (8 August) after he was prosecuted by the animal welfare charity. He had pleaded guilty to eight offences contrary to the Animal Welfare Act at an earlier hearing.
A raid on his property on 16 September 2022 found seven bull breed type dogs will illegally cropped ears and further dogs with injury or illness which had not been treated.
Two enclosures contained puppies with urine-soaked bellies and paws. One of the dogs was much smaller than the others and was observed to be lethargic, quiet and struggling to walk.
Two bull breed type dogs with cropped ears were found in further enclosures. One of them had no suitable resting area and the other was too small for the dog to comfortably lie down and stretch out. Three bull breed type dogs, two with cropped ears, were also being housed in a penned off area under the stairs. The area was poorly lit with next to no natural light. In the rear yard were three more dogs – three bull breed types with cropped ears and a French Bulldog type dog.
Intelligence gathered by the RSPCA as part of the investigation looked at images and videos on Gonzales’ Facebook and Instagram accounts from early 2020 to June 2022.
One post from 7 April 2020 showed a picture of a young female dog called Medusa with cropped ears. Two months earlier there was a video of a litter of puppies, one of which appeared to be the same dog with her ears intact. A listing on a website called Bully Pedex showed she belonged to Gonzales and had been bred from another dog he owned.
Further evidence showed young bully type dogs called Huncho and Prada with cropped ears. They had also been bred by Gonzales and were seen in earlier images and footage with their ears intact.
RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector Carl Larsson said: “The pen was an open-topped, black metal cage with a plastic floor. The plastic tray was soiled with faeces and urine with no bedding, newspaper, puppy pads etc to soak up the urine.
“As a result the dogs were walking around in their own urine and their coats were wet with urine when picked up. There was no food or water for them.”
He added: “Ear cropping is a painful and unnecessary procedure in which a dogs’ ears are removed or surgically altered. It does not benefit them in any way and can actually be detrimental to their health, behaviour and welfare, but sadly many owners think the look is glamorous or makes their pet look tough.
“Whilst this practice is illegal in the UK, it still happens, and dogs can still be legally imported into this country having had the procedure done overseas. We’d urge anyone looking to buy a dog to remember that this is a barbaric procedure which has hugely negative impacts for the animals themselves.”
Gonzales, now of Shelley Road in Preston, will not be able to contest his ten-year disqualification order for five years. He will also have to pay costs of £2,000.
Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
