A woman has been handed a suspended prison term and banned from keeping animals for life after being convicted of a string of animal welfare offences.
Jay Clarke from Crawley, appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (14 September) for sentencing. She was previously convicted, at trial, of seven offences* relating to 14 dogs.
Magistrates who presided over the trial (in July 2022) said, in court, that Clarke was an experienced dog owner and breeder who had previously shown dogs so had a good knowledge of the care they needed. They also said that, despite her disability, she was aware that the dogs were suffering and hadn’t acted on previous advice or sought help.
Clarke’s failure to provide veterinary treatment for the dogs had caused a number of them to suffer for a variety of reasons – including as a consequence of ear conditions (five dogs), eye conditions (five dogs), skin conditions (five dogs), dental disease (10 dogs), lameness and mobility issues (two dogs) and multiple infected wounds (one dog). She was also found to have failed to protect a further three dogs from pain, suffering, injury or disease as a consequence of not providing required veterinary treatment.
Last week, Clarke was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison – suspended for 12 months – and ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions. She was also disqualified from keeping all animals for life – and all animals in her care should be taken into care. Clarke was ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £128.
RSPCA officers visited a property in Crawley on 6 April 2021 after concerns were raised about the welfare of a large number of animals living at the home. Sussex Police obtained a warrant and officers returned on 8 April with an independent vet. A total of 16 dogs and two cats were seized and were later signed over for rehoming by the RSPCA.
Officers who visited the home found Chihuahuas and rottweilers being kept in the front room and upstairs while spaniels were living in a small, dirty back room.
RSPCA inspector Tony Woodley, who led the investigation, said in his witness statement: “The interior of the house was dimly lit. The ‘living room’ area with a sofa and very large TV was accessible by the cats, rottweilers and chihuahuas. There were food and water bowls in this area.
“To the rear of this was an area of approximately 4m x 2.5m which contained the spaniels. This area had a strong smell and the walls and floor were stained with either faeces or dirt or a mixture of the two. There was a human bed in this area with a mattress. The mattress was stained brown and there were blankets on it which were also brown and covered in faeces or mud. The floor had concrete missing in places and two dogs were cowering in the area where a draw was missing from a wooden chest of drawers. There were no water or food bowls in this area. In this area I saw packs of dog food but this was not accessible to the dogs.
“I was alarmed by the condition of many of these animals and there seemed to be a general lack of care for these animals. The spaniels looked like they had been roughly de-matted with a sharp implement and some of these dogs had open wounds.”
The vet checked all of the animals and found many of them had untreated dental disease, ear infections, eye conditions and skin problems, while some were lame and one had infected wounds. Two of the spaniels were considered, by the vet, to be in a ‘severe condition’ including a female brown spaniel, called Betty who was rushed to vets for emergency treatment.
Inspector Woodley added: “[She] was in such a poor condition that two police officers agreed to take [her] in an emergency fashion direct to the vets for immediate emergency treatment.”
