The RSPCA has officially dropped their prosecution of a Cowes woman more than a year after 65 chihuahua dogs were seized by Police, with COVID-19 being blamed for the decision.
Local residents stopped a van in its tracks on Fellows Road, Cowes on 29th July 2019 after members of the public became increasingly concerned for the welfare of whimpering animals inside. The Police were called to the scene and a white Fiat hire van was found to contain a large number of dogs, with even more packed into a nearby house.
Due to the conditions of the animals, they were seized by Police officers and handed over into the care of the RSPCA.
The Isle of Wight branch of the RSPCA appealed for donations of money and food to help care for the 65 small dogs, with the first of the rescued animals made ready for re-homing the following month. The last update on the situation was given in June this year when another 10 dogs were advertised as looking for a new home.
The 51-year-old was due to appear in court in August, however, the RSPCA dropped their prosecution by the end of July. They withdrew 7 charges for causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and not taking steps to provide a suitable environment for the dogs, a suitable living environment and a suitable diet.
The RSPCA says that the decision was taken due to a backlog of court cases as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with some cases being reviewed and discontinued as a result. This is argued by the accused.
An RSPCA spokesperson has told Island Echo:
“We work incredibly hard to make animals’ lives better and, on a small number of occasions, that means pets can be removed from their owners by the police and placed into our care pending a court case.
“The RSPCA keeps all cases under continuous review and at present we are working in line with the interim CPS Covid-19 guidance. In some cases decisions are made to deal with matters other than by way of prosecution and these decisions are never taken lightly.”
The accused previously publicly stated that she was the victim of persecution from her new neighbours and believed herself to be a fit and proper person to be entrusted with the care of animals.
All of the animals were signed over to the RSPCA and have since been re-homed.
Well thank god these dear little dogs have new loving homes xx
Yes, would be nice to know that that horrid lady was banned though from doing such again. She must be evil or simple, either way not fit to have pets.
if it was a bloke they would have prosecuted, far right feminism is taking over behind the scenes
Do you find being a gobshite comes naturally or is something you’ve had to work at?
Are you paranoid or do you just take any opportunity to have a dig at women?
The woman was given some of the dogs back.
Not all of them were rehomed by the RSPCA
Absolutely disgusting!! This does not show the RSPCA in a good light at all.
Not enough camera’s around for them to warrant their”good works”!
What a failure when the perpetrator “believed herself to be a fit and proper person to be entrusted with the care of animals” and the RSPCA drop the court case. Sends a real message!
Again….. Total failure and disappointment in the RSPCA over the most scandalous mistreatment of animals on the island on recent memory.
Glad to see the dogs have been rehomed – when it says protected animal does it mean Chihuahuas or dogs in general?
We rehomed 2 of these dogs they were in a terrible condition underfed & scared of everything after a year or so now they are happy & doubled in weight but they are not friendly enough to be allowed to be approached except by us. Whatever The Woman in question s excuses those dogs were treated badly & in my Opinion All involved should be banned from keeping animals.
The Rspca did a terrific job over 2 months of visiting & getting to know the dogs we were allowed to have a home check then brought them home to their forever Safe space. We Love them very much.
Maz, I think they reported this woman was a ‘horder’. If this was/is the case, the RSPCA need to keep a watchful eye on her because if she is a horder of dogs, the numbers could slowly increase again. These people have a problem, it is a condition.
Interesting to hear your comments. My little one has similar characteristics. I view him rather like a survivor of a concentration camp, he needs loads of love and attention. He’s made great strides but you can see the suffering he went through.
Absolutely disgusting not one case dropped its 65 case’s
Just because there is a ‘backlog of cases’ you don’t give up!! The case should have just waited its turn and proceeded regardless. RSPCA launched an appeal for funds on the Island, why should we give if they are not going to see the job through.
I now have no respect for the RSPCA at all. This woman has no guilt over what she did and has not been banned fro owning dogs again, which she currently is. To make the covid outbreak an excuse is laughable and negligent in their duty of care. It will not make getting donations any easier for them as they seem to think they can make up their own rules.
I for one will never give money again.
RSPCA only care about the money side.similar situation in rhyl.i have 5 as RSPCA were going to euthanise 32 chi’s ,they have issues,fine with me& daughter but still can’t be walked on harness or collar.there missing out lovely walks ,but they are however affectionate,it’s been 18 months,they were so scared,never socialised but happy& well fed.still issues with eating& storing poo even thou good& biscuits down all day…I lost all faith in RSPCA when wanted euthanise these healthy animals because ‘ didn’t have resources’ they only care about money! Pure& simple money!!!
So they ended up taking the animals without a valid or reasonable excuse, and then intended to put them down??!! Another RSPCA power trip. Seen it before.
how much money has been wasted on this case and then have it dropped before getting to court
Absolutely ridiculous using covid as an excuse! Where do we draw the line, the justice system in this country is laughable to start with, will this be used as an excuse in other crimes brought to courts. Covid covid covid it’s all we hear about the world is still carrying on and we need to get on with it otherwise what’s the point of anything !
It’s been proven that the RSPCA kill half the animals they ‘rescue’ including stray pets. How do you tell someone looking for their pet it’s been destroyed?
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-rspca-can-it-destroy-and-protect-animals-at-the-same-time-8470469.html
And this is why people will continue mistreating animals..the RSPCA are useless. They have more than enough money to continue with this prosecution ( no matter how long it takes ) .. I’m afraid that they are getting an increasingly bad reputation, with regard to how much they ‘ actually do ‘ care about animal welfare.