Animal inspector breaks down giving evidence at Cork court in animal cruelty case

An experienced animal welfare inspector was overcome with tears in court today when she recounted one of the worst animal cruelty cases in her career, as the man responsible for the crime appealed against a jail term.

Caroline Faherty, ISPCA animal welfare inspector, said she was so overcome by the stench from a shed where an emaciated German Shepherd mother and pups were found with faeces matted into their coats that she had to step out several times to retch during her inspection. 

Collie pups in similar condition also had to be rescued from the cruel conditions.

“I still have nightmares of going into the shed,” Ms Faherty testified at Cork Circuit Appeals Court today.

Prosecution barrister Meg Burke said Vasyl Fedoryn of Ballypierce, Charleville, County Cork, was sentenced to three months in prison at Mallow District Court, fined €500 and ordered to pay almost €20,000 in costs, as well as being banned from keeping animals for any kind for the next 15 years.

Paula McCarthy, barrister for the appellant, said Mr Fedoryn had pleaded guilty to the offences and was only appealing the custodial sentence, not any of the other penalties.

Ms Faherty said collies and German Shepherds are working dogs and need to be exercised and socialised but that in this case, not alone did they not get that but they were left locked up in small sheds without regular food or water and became emaciated, infested with maggots, matted with faeces and in some instances unable to walk. 

Some of the dogs had to be ‘put to sleep’, the inspector said.

“He was completely unrepentant, he did not think there was any issue. And he was going to do everything (such as building bigger sheds) but he never did anything,” Ms Faherty said.

Ms McCarthy for the defence said he did get it now and was fully remorseful. 

She said he had no convictions and was otherwise leading a productive life.

Appeal

Judge Boyle said that while considering the appeal over lunchbreak she was remanding the appellant in custody until the afternoon.

The judge said of the cruelty shown to these 13 dogs: “They need love, care and attention. They got none of that when they were under his control.” 

Agreeing to allow the appeal against the custodial sentence, the judge imposed a suspended five-month sentence and a 240-hour community service order and let the financial penalties remain.

Referring to his remand in custody for a couple of hours today, Judge Boyle said: 

“You have spent some time in a prison cell. I felt I had to show you the inside of a prison cell because of what you did.” 

Previously, at Mallow District Court, the evidence included descriptions of dogs in dark, filthy, rodent-infested pens. 

Two dogs looked like they had been trying to dig themselves out of their pen which had no water.""

The 41-year-old did not understand how to properly keep animals and was working long hours away from home, trying to earn money for his family and to send back to loved ones in his native Ukraine, his solicitor Denis Linehan said. 

His actions had not been financially motivated and he had not been running a puppy farm, Mr Linehan said.

He has been an Irish citizen since 2013, and pleaded guilty to nine of 14 offences, five of which were withdrawn. 

The charges were brought under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, following an inspection on April 21, 2023.

Although he had been ordered not to keep any animals when he was last in court, ISPCA inspector Caroline Faherty had visited the property on two occasions since and found multiple cats there, the court heard.

Judge Colm Roberts fined him €500 on one charge. He sentenced him to one month in prison on the second charge; two months in prison on two charges; three months in prison on three charges; and five months in prison, with two months suspended for one year on two charges.

He was also disqualified from owning domestic or commercial animals for 15 years.

If he is found to have "one little cat or one little mouse" he’ll be in breach of his bail conditions, Judge Roberts warned.

He is also to pay veterinary and kennel costs of €16,450.30 to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and €3,000 in the State’s legal fees.

Horrified

Ms Faherty had to break padlocks to get into one shed. The smell was so putrid that she repeatedly retched, and there was so much faeces and sewerage she had to change into oilskins and rubber boots to inspect it.

“I was horrified at the state of the poor dogs in there,” Ms Faherty said.

"I made the decision I had to seize the dogs and puppies as they were in danger."

The dogs were all “extremely nervous” and were very difficult to remove, she said.

Hens were also being kept there with no bedding, and rats were clearly living in the sheds — having burrowed through piles of rubbish.

Although food and bedding was on site, it had not been made accessible to the animals.

Sewers and drains were overflowing with sewage and water, Ms Faherty said.

One dog, who was lactating and therefore needed extra liquids, was so thirsty that when Ms Faherty gave her water she drank so much that the water had to be removed temporarily out of fear for the dog's welfare.

Video

Although one German Shepherd and her pups were not in a terrible condition, juvenile dogs were emaciated with no muscle mass.

Feral young dogs could not walk across uneven ground because their limbs were so damaged, the court heard. 

Video showed dogs whimpering in filthy, dark conditions, surrounded by piles of excrement.

More than €16,450 was spent trying to rehabilitate the animals, with care, intensive nutrition, physiotherapy, and major veterinary interventions. 

However, despite best efforts to save the dogs, four had to be euthanised.

Three juvenile collies were so traumatised weeks after they were rescued that they had to be put down because no one could get near them, Ms Faherty said.

A young German Shepherd’s limbs were so deformed he had to be put down as he could not bear the weight when he grew.