A young mum has been found guilty of abandoning dozens of puppies in a caravan and helping to orchestrate an international puppy smuggling ring.
Micaela Anderson-Letts, 35, played a pivotal role in the organisation which smuggled pups across the Channel from countries including Poland and France.
Dozens of the dogs were kept in ‘disgusting’ conditions, forcing them to survive by feeding on each other.
Puppies were found in locations in Surrey and Sussex after being smuggled into the UK with fake animal passports – which risked bringing rabies into the country.
In a caravan in Eastbourne, a large number of dogs were found abandoned. Dozens more were found living in their own excrement.
Some of the poor animals were fed the remains of pigs kept by Anderson-Letts at her home in Surbiton.
Pigs, chicks and hens were forced to compete for food leaving them injured, starved and without water in soaring summer temperatures during the first national covid lockdown.
Police found thousands in cash, receipts and fake documents belonging to Anderson-Letts.
She was involved in what police described as a ‘well-structured, organised enterprise’ which was a ‘money-making enterprise’ which had no regard for the welfare of animals.
She stood to rake in more than £173,000 from the illegal sales of undocumented puppies, travelling as far as Aberdeen to conduct business.
A judge at Kingston Crown Court gave Anderson-Letts a 24-month sentence, which will be suspended for two years due to her one-year-old daughter.
His Honour Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey told Anderson-Letts she was a proven liar who had misled and ignored pleas from authorities to look after her animals.
He said: ‘Documents seized showed she was part of a well-organised and structured origination in which she played a pivotal role. She posted adverts and collected money. She was at the heart of this organisation.’
Her activities created a serious risk to the UK, the judge added: ‘She created a risk to the rabies status of the whole UK. This is a danger to farmers and pet owners and a very serious matter indeed.’
The court heard one puppy rescued from the caravan in Eastbourne later died of starvation.
All the animals recovered by RSPCA and police were found to have infections and infestations.
Sussex Police were called to an abandoned caravan in a car park in Eastbourne in 2021. Anderson-Letts was already banned from keeping animals at the time, but police found 35 puppies locked inside.
Anderson-Letts denied responsibility for the caravan despite CCTV evidence showing her vehicle driving it to the carpark.
The Labradors, Dachshunds and French Bulldogs were living in a state of squalor, PC Marie Jenner, of the Sussex Police said.
She said: ‘The whole floor was covered in faeces and urine-soaked cardboard. There were exposed wires, nails and screws, and broken pieces of wood and tools throughout. The conditions were completely uninhabitable.
‘The dogs were retrieved from the caravan and placed in makeshift pens where we provided them with bowls of water. They were drinking uncontrollably, which gave an indication of their desperation to rehydrate.
‘A vet arrived on scene and explained that the dogs were suffering – and would continue to suffer if left in these conditions – and therefore they were seized under the Animal Welfare Act.’
Anderson-Letts has also been given an indefinite animal banning order and is required to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.
She will appear in court again next month.
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