Lynda Cooper, 74, pleaded guilty to multiple animal welfare offences and has been disqualified for keeping dogs for 10 years
Credit: Hope Rescue
NEED TO KNOW
- A former dog show champion in Wales has been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years and fined more than $13,000 after pleading guilty to multiple animal welfare offenses
- 77 dogs in total were found at a property belonging to Lynda Cooper, 74, after local government officials and a veterinarian obtained a warrant to enter
- Six of the older dogs needed to be euthanized due to poor health but a local rescue center has been rehoming the others
A former dog show champion has been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years after a total of 77 were found suffering at her home in a "harrowing" animal welfare case.
In July 2024, local government officials received a complaint regarding the welfare of dogs and suspected illegal breeding at Lynda Cooper's address in the town of Pontypool in Wales, according to a press release from Torfaen County Borough Council.
Cooper, 74, won six awards with her gundog, Carlos, at the prestigious Crufts dog show in 2016, and previously had a license to breed dogs between 2022 and 2023.
Credit: Hope Rescue/Facebook
The case was referred to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), one of the U.K.'s largest animal welfare nonprofits, but RSPCA officers were denied entry when they visited the property.
The following month, Hope Rescue, a local rehoming center, received a surrender request from Cooper and took in three female dogs and their 20 puppies, per a press release.
That same month, officers from her local council's Licensing and Trading Standards team, the Animal Licensing Wales team and a veterinarian visited after obtaining a warrant and removed 41 dogs and two litters of puppies — 54 dogs in total — per the release. Another dog later gave birth to a further five puppies.
Credit: Hope Rescue/Facebook
The dogs were found to be living in unsuitable conditions, while the puppies were suffering from malnutrition, and a number of the dogs had additional medical conditions as well.
Officials removed the dogs and provided medical care, and the council was granted formal permission to take the rest of the dogs two months later. Hope Rescue, a local rehoming center, has been finding most of them new families, but shared in its release that six of the older dogs had to be euthanized due to poor health.
Sara Rosser, head of operations at Hope Rescue, described the case as "one of the most challenging and distressing" the center has handled.
"On arrival with us, the dogs were in a devastating state — severely underweight, many suffering from advanced dental disease and chronic ear infections," she said in the release.
"Older dogs had lost muscle mass and mobility, and were so physically depleted they were unable to reach food before the younger dogs."
Credit: Hope Rescue/Facebook
The rescue said that the younger dogs were "extremely fearful," with many appearing to have never left Cooper's property before.
"We started with the basics — helping them discover and understand the world around them for the first time," the organization explained.
At Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, June 19, Cooper was banned from keeping dogs for 10 years and sentenced to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to 11 animal welfare offenses and breeding dogs without a license.
The breeder was also ordered to pay £10,000 (over $13,000) toward council costs and a surcharge of £187 (almost $250).
Daniel Morelli, head of public protection and environment at Torfaen County Borough Council, said, "Miss Cooper failed to meet the standards required by law, resulting in significant and unnecessary suffering to a considerable number of animals. We will not hesitate to take action in cases where animal welfare is neglected."
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Hope Rescue founder and CEO Vanessa Waddon said in the release, "This was a harrowing case for everyone involved, but this work is so important. We will continue to lobby the Welsh Government to strengthen our breeding legislation and enforcement."
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