Sheffield dog breeder connected to illegal import and mutilation of puppies wins appeal to keep licence

Sheffield Council’s licensing sub-committee revoked Carmen Pintea’s, owner of Barbarian Corso Kennels, licence to breed dogs earlier this year.

Ms Pintea appealed the decision and following another meeting, the committee decided to lift its revocation and allow her to continue breeding dogs but with extra conditions.

The U-turn came after confidential evidence was shared with the committee.

New conditions on the licence are:

All business decisions must be made by the licensee All animals on the premises must be imported by the licensee All dogs on the premises must have their records and documentation available for inspection by authorised officers of the council.

In an email sent to the council to plead for reconsideration ahead of the meeting Ms Pintea said she does not import dogs to sell, is the only breeder of cane corso in the UK who represents the country in world dog shows, during the inspection there was no concern raised regarding the quality of life or care the dogs receive, she did not have any say on the puppies in question, she has always strived to do things right and by the book, it had never happened before and will never happen again.

She added: “I would like to plead with the members of the committee to take all this information into consideration, as well as the references from my owners.

“Not one breeder in this country or abroad for that matter has this level of training, time and passion invested into their dogs and their programme. Could my mistake please be considered as a one off mistake (which it was and not even mine) and I can assure you nothing of this sort will ever happen again.”

Ms Pintea’s licence went to review following an investigation by the council’s environmental protection service after a complaint about a puppy advertisement by Barbarian Corso Kennels.

The council said investigations revealed the puppy was imported with two others from Romania. All puppies were cropped and docked, meaning their ears were surgically shortened and their tails removed. This process is prohibited in the UK and Romania but allowed in Serbia.

The owners initially claimed the dogs were operated on in Serbia prior to being imported because they had been in an accident, but Claudiu Belceanu, Ms Pintea’s partner, later admitted he arranged the operations to alter the dogs’ appearance.

On 27 January, Mr Belceanu pleaded guilty to arranging the cropping and docking of the puppies, and illegally importing the dogs, and was sentenced to 100 hours community service. He was disqualified from transporting animals and from arranging for the transport of animals for 12 months. He was ordered to pay £800 towards the council’s costs and a victim surcharge of £90.

At the same hearing, Ms Pintea pleaded guilty to failing to notify the secretary of state of the import, and was fined £120, and was also ordered to pay £800 towards the council’s costs with a surcharge of £32.

READ MORE:

- Puppies at Sheffield dog kennel business were illegally imported and mutilated

- Owner of Sheffield dog breeding business connected to illegal import and mutilation of puppies appeals decision