Two members of  family from  sentenced for animal cruelty charges

A TWENTY FIVE year old man from Myshall, County Carlow has today Thursday received a prison sentence of four months and has been banned for life from keeping animals after he pleaded guilty to charges under the Animal Health and Welfare Act in Carlow District Court.

Jamie Kavanagh’s father, James of Raheenleigh, Myshall was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in 2019 and also banned for life from keeping animals for animal cruelty after wide scale abuse and neglect of horses and dogs were discovered at his farm.

Jamie’s mother, Jennifer, was given a suspended sentence at that time for animal cruelty and handed a 15 year old ban from keeping dogs.

In court today, Thursday, Jamie’s aunt, Sheila Kavanagh (58) pleaded guilty to four counts under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, alongside him.

They both pleaded guilty to counts of cruelty to animals, failing to protect animals and failing to feed animals at that address on 28 July 2023, while Mr Kavanagh also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of obstructing an officer arising from the same incident.

ISPCA inspector Fiona Conlon told the court that when she visited the Kavanagh farm on that date, she found several dogs in poor condition with little or no bedding, their kennels littered with faeces and with no water or food. She described some golden retrievers she saw, including one called Sally, who was heavily pregnant but was so thin that her spine could be seen through her fur and who was “barely able to stand” because she was so weak.

Ms Conlon told the court that she went to the Kavanagh farm on 28 July last year because she got a call about concerns that dog breeding was taking place there again and that she was accompanied by two dog wardens and a member of the gardaí.

She continued that they found two golden retrievers, one of which was heavily pregnant but so weak she was barely able to stand. Ms Conlon described the dog as being “like a skeleton with a big tummy”. The court heard that the dog had to be stretchered out of the farm because it was so weak and that two days after being rescued by the ISPCA she gave birth to 11 pups.

The court heard that Ms Conlon found another golden retriever who was underweight and “very nervous”, while in another kennel they found a collie with no bedding, water or food and where the floor was “full of faeces”. Two more retrievers were found in another kennel who were also underweight and nervous. She continued that a water barrel contained green stagnant water that was unfit for consumption.

Judge Geraldine Carthy heard that Jennifer Kavanagh had got upset when she met the inspector, the dog wardens and the gardaí and that her son Jamie shouted abuse at them.

Ms Conlon said that she asked Jamie Kavanagh who owned the dogs but that he refused to tell her.

She said that when the ISPCA were taking two retrievers and a collie off the farm, Jamie Kavanagh intervened and took the collie away from Ms Conlon and into his house, where she couldn’t reach him.

Ms Conlon said that she paid a follow-up call to Sheila Kavanagh, who said that she owned the pregnant dog but that she was unaware that the dog was in pup. When she asked about two other retrievers who were missing on the second visit, she was told that they “must have gotten out” and were no longer there. She also said that she’d found the collie dogs living in better conditions than before.

Solicitor Jill Griffin, representing both of the defendants, told the court that Sheila Kavanagh had had a fall at that time and was unable to look after her two golden retrievers so she had asked her nephew Jamie to take care of them. Ms Griffin said that Jamie had been too busy with his own work to take care of them properly but that he should have. She also said that he wanted to apologise to Ms Conlon for shouting abuse at her.

Ms Conlon replied that it was “total neglect” that Sheila Kavanagh didn’t know that her dog was pregnant and that she didn’t believe that Jamie Kavanagh cared about animal welfare at all.

Ms Griffin said that there was “genuine remorse” by Ms Kavanagh and that she had €600 in court to pay towards the ISPCA costs.

Ms Griffin also said that Jamie Kavanagh had been angry when the inspector called because his brother had died at the time of the court case where his parents had been prosecuted but that he accepted that he should have co-operated with Ms Conlon.

Judge Carthy sentenced Ms Conlon to four months’ imprisonment, which she suspended in totality for 24 months, while also fining her €1,000 and ordering her to pay €600 to the ISPCA.

She then sentenced Jamie Kavanagh to four months’ imprisonment, while also ordering him to pay the same amount in costs to the ISPCA.

When Ms Griffin asked the judge to suspend all or part of Mr Kavanagh’s sentence, Judge Carthy refused, saying: “This was one of the most serious animal cruelty cases to come through these doors. It could have been brought to a higher court.” Mr Kavanagh is appealing his sentence.