Illegal Black Country puppy seller banned from dealing dogs
A woman from Kingswinford has been banned from dealing in dogs for three years for selling puppies without a licence.
Stacey Skeet, of Blaze Park, appeared before Dudley Magistrates’ Court charged with offences including breeding dogs and selling them without a licence.
The prosecution followed intelligence-led investigations into the unlicensed sale of puppies in the West Midlands area.
It was heard Skeet, 41, had advertised a litter of Chocolate Labrador puppies.
She said she had advertised a litter of Cocker Spaniel puppies for friends.
But a spokesperson on behalf of Animal Protection Services, which brought the prosecution, said: “Trading of puppies without a licence is not acceptable.
"The undermining of the statutory licensing regime is a risk to animal welfare and consumer protection.
“The illegal puppy trade has become a low risk, high reward trade and we are determined to ensure that opportunists and organised criminals are brought before the courts to face justice."
Skeet pleaded guilty to three charges and was ordered to pay a £720 fine and disqualified from dealing dogs for three years.
She was also ordered to pay a contribution of £500 towards investigation costs.
Animal Protection Services is a registered charity that investigates and prosecutes organised animal cruelty.
Skeet's offences were breeding and selling dogs without a licence from December 2 to December 7, 2020; selling an animal/pet with a view to be later resold as pets in course of a business without a licence for purpose between December 2 and December 7, 2020.
And being a trader engaged in a commercial practice, or creating the impression that a dog could lawfully be sold when it could not without a licence granted by the Local Authority between December 2 and December 7 2020.
