A judge sentenced an 84-year-old woman on Tuesday to 10 months’ imprisonment after ISPCA inspectors found seven dogs “covered in faeces and urine” at her rural home in Co Laois. She was convicted on two counts of animal cruelty at Athy District Court.
Mary Kelly of Boley, Wolfshill, Ballylinan, was charged under section 12 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act following the inspection on May 5th. Kelly had previously faced similar charges on two previous occasions, and had been subject to a court order prohibiting her from ever owning any animal again.
Inspectors initially found two dogs, one tied to a chair and another in a cat carrier with no food and water, and were alerted to the others by barking inside. Here they found five more in an unlit room “full of faeces ... and mouldy food”.
Kelly was described as “confrontational”, and when her existing ban was explained to her she said it didn’t matter to her.
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All animals were taken and have since been rehoused.
“She was made well aware by her legal team not to have any animals, not even a church mouse,” her solicitor said.
“With a sentence pending she chose to break the order and kept animals in appalling conditions,” said Judge Desmond Zaidan. The judge described Kelly’s actions as “totally reckless” and said she kept the animals “while on bail awaiting sentence for similar allegations”.
“Age is not a bar from going to prison,” he said, as he imposed five-month sentences on each count, and ordered they run consecutively.
Kelly subsequently lodged an appeal against the sentence and was released after lodging a bond of €500.