This is the sentencing decision for a case involving 29 dogs being seized from the accused’s property due to lack of basic care and sanitary conditions; she was found guilty under the province’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The details of the case can be found here.
The Court considered as aggravating factors the abhorrent conditions that the dogs had been found in, which were the result of the accused choosing to “pursue profit from the sale of the Coton de Tulear puppies over providing a clean and safe environment, proper food, adequate grooming and proper veterinary care for all of the dogs in her possession” (para. 28). Mitigating factors included the almost $15,000 in expenses the accused incurred to have the puppies returned to her for sale, including an order obtained by BC SPCA from the Farm Industry Review Board (FIRB) for their expenses for the care of the dogs seized, in the amount of $13,171.09 (para. 30). A neutral factor in determining the appropriate penalty is that the accused did not accept the guilty verdict of the Court, due to which it found the need to denounce and deter her conduct has outweighed any rehabilitative interest.
Because the accused had not demonstrated any understanding of the harm suffered by the dogs in her care, nor any remorse for or insight into the seriousness of her offending conduct (para. 45), the Court accepted the Crown’s submission of a $6,000 fine and a lifetime prohibition order against owning or caring for more than one dog and specifically prohibited from engaging in the breeding of dogs in any manner including the provision of stud services (para. 49).
https://canlii.ca/t/k0z72