A Dundee puppytrader who sold animals trafficked from illegal breeders before selling them on Gumtree was spared jail today.
Jaimie Colquhoun, 25, also avoided a ban on keeping animals for running a business that a sheriff said “encourages others to breed and supply” farmed puppies and that she did so “purely for profit”.
Scottish SPCA investigators said Colquhoun had “tapped into the illegal puppy trafficking world” that breeds animals “in extremely intensive regimes much the same as battery chickens”.
During a trial at Forfar Sheriff Court, Colquhoun’s solicitor claimed investigators from the animal charity told Colquhoun, of Dunholm Road, Dundee, she would be branded “Cruella de Vil” and have excrement put through her door by animal lovers if she didn’t help their probe.
She was accused of repeatedly offering animals for sale through trading site Gumtree and meeting buyers in public car parks — including Morrisons in Dundee and Pleasureland in Arbroath — to carry out the transactions without a licence in 2014 and 2015.
Colquhoun denied the charges against her — but a sheriff found her guilty and told her they were “serious” offences.
The court heard a probe was launched into Colquhoun’s activities after complaints were made about one of the pups she sold having a virus.
Solicitor Ian Houston told the court today that Colquhoun had “suffered greatly” as a result of the prosecution and had been targeted for abuse in the street. He added: “This was not something done callously by the accused and she had concern for the pups she did sell.
“When one of them became ill she paid the vet bills and refunded the buyer’s money and suffered quite a financial hit as a result of the transaction.”
Sheriff Gregor Murray imposed a community payback order with 250 hours unpaid work and said the maximum jail term he could impose — three months — would not be enough punishment.
But he could not impose an order banning her from keeping animals because legislation that would allow him to do so is not yet in force.
He said: “You became involved in selling dogs in an unregulated fashion purely to make money.
This forms part of a trade which, if not regulated, can cause cruelty to animals. Conduct such as yours encourages others to breed and supply such animals.”
A spokesman for the Scottish SPCA said: “Whilst we’re disappointed that she did not receive a ban we do welcome the fact that she has been dealt with by the court.
“We currently feel sentencing for animal abuse is very inconsistent in Scotland and we would like to see an increase in the maximum jail sentence which would provide the sheriff with a greater range of options.”
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