Two men convicted of running illegal puppy farm in Dagenham

Nine dogs were found in terrible conditions in Sterry Road (Credit: Barking and Dagenham Council)

Two men have been found guilty of running an illegal puppy farm in Dagenham.

The local council first became aware of the site, in Sterry Road, after a member of the public made a complaint. They had purchased a puppy whose health quickly deteriorated when it was taken home.

Council officers raided the property and found nine dogs, including huskies, pit bull terriers and a french bulldog living in terrible conditions. 

“One dog was chained up and another in a small cage and both were left in their faeces with no clean water,” said a spokesperson for Barking and Dagenham Council.

“Others were being kept in a dirty bathroom. The owner had been selling the dogs for up to £700 each and the council seized the remaining nine dogs.”

Raimundas Pazdrazdis and his brother Sigitas were found to be running the puppy farm and convicted of animal-cruelty offences. 

Raimundas was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 300 hours unpaid work, banned from keeping dogs for seven year and ordered to pay £75,000.

Sigitas was given a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work, banned from keeping dogs for five years and ordered to pay £7,500. 

Four of their pit bulls were put down after being deemed unsafe. 

Councillor Syed Ghani, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, said: “This is a fantastic result as not only have we protected the public from buying dogs that might be unsafe, but the defendants have been banned from keeping dogs for several years.

“We won’t stand for dogs or any other animal being treated in this despicable way and if we find out somebody is mistreating them, we will make sure that we go all out to take the strongest action.”

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