Unlicensed Offaly puppy farmer ordered to pay €2,300

AN Offaly puppy farmer who surrendered her dogs after her premises was inspected last year has been fined €1,600 and ordered to pay €700 in costs.

Maureen Mahon (71), Lugmore, Geashill, pleaded guilty at Tullamore District Court this afternoon to operating a dog breeding establishment without a licence.

Judge John King was told that it would have cost Mrs Mahon €1,600 to register her operation in accordance with the 2010 Dog Breeding Establishments Act and he decided to fine her by the same amount.

The €700 is for County Council costs and Emily Mahon, solicitor for the council, told the court an inspection of Mrs Mahon's premises had taken place “fairly quickly” after the prosecution had come before Judge King on Monday (March 21).

“Very quickly, I'd have to say,” remarked Mark Cooney, solicitor for the defendant.

Prosecuting solicitor Ms Mahon said Aidan Grant from the council, along with Michelle Fox and Alma Kelly, plus ISPCA staff, attended at the premises and she handed a report, illustrated with current pictures, to the judge. 

Mr Cooney said he had indicated on Monday that his client would facilitate the inspection at 12 noon the following day but “unfortunately” the council officials proceeded immediately to Mrs Mahon's premises and “even more importantly” with media “in tow”.

Mr Cooney raised an issue which had not been put before the court previously but which was of “huge concern” to his client because of “her daughter's position” and that issue had taken on a life of its own.

Mr Cooney said that in February 2021 national media carried a headline “State solicitor keeping mum about puppy farm run by her mother”, along with similar articles.

Mr Cooney said the dogs were removed at that time and the issue with his client at that point was that she had suffered a bereavement on the death of her brother and had not been around her place as frequently as she normally would.

He explained that Mrs Mahon had started off with a boarding kennels but found that difficult to run “in terms of people coming and going” and then went into dog breeding prior to the 2010 Act.

She continued in ignorance of the law, which he accepted was no defence, and she then volunteered the surrender of the dogs in January, 2021.

The number of dogs she now had did not fall within the category of having a dog breeding establishment and she was not going to operate in that way again.

Mr Cooney said his client, a pensioner, had suffered very considerably, especially because of “lurid headines in two national newspapers” which referred to the incident prior to any prosecution, which referred to her daughter's position in the county of Offaly, and put her daughter in a very invidious position because her name had been highlighted.

That had a huge adverse effect on Mrs Mahon who was a lady now in receipt of the State pension having reared her family and who was accompanied in court by her son.

“She always had dogs and will continue having a number of dogs but will not be breaching any regulations again,” said Mr Cooney.

The defending solicitor also said Mrs Mahon will facilitate further checks once appropriate notice is given.

Maureen Mahon's daughter, Sandra Mahon, is the state solicitor for Offaly.

Imposing the fine and costs, Judge King gave Mrs Mahon six months to pay.

A closure notice was served on Maureen Mahon by Offaly County Council following inspections at Mill House, Lugmore on January 22 and January 25, 2021.

The notice said 44 breeding females, six litters of pups and nine adult males were recorded at that time.

The notice added that none of the dogs were licensed or identified with a microchip, no records were available on request and no registration was in place or applied for.

The inspector said he was satisfied that the operation of the dog breeding establishment posed a serious and immediate threat to animal welfare.