Animal welfare officers uncovered a house of horrors when they were called to investigate Daanyaal Chowdhury’s security dog business near Perth.
Local vets raised the alarm when they were presented with two of his dogs, including a German Shepherd called Sophie who was riddled with skin diseases.
Perth Sheriff Court was shown shocking video footage showing kittens and puppies crammed into a tiny, ramshackle cottage in the Glenalmond countryside.
Older dogs kept in outdoor kennels were “desperate to get out” and had even gnawed through walls in a bid to escape, inspectors said.
Conditions at the farm were so bad they posed a public health risk, the court heard.
Hotline complaint sparked probe
Fiscal depute Andrew Harding said a complaint about Chowdhury was made to the SSPCA hotline on the morning of October 28, 2020.
Inspectors were told his dog Sophie was being treated at a local vets.
“Areas of her skin were infected and weeping,” Mr Harding said. “Some with blood, some with puss.
“Sophie was squeaking during an inspection of her skin, indicating that areas of her body were painful.”
As well as chronic skin disease, she had suffered hair loss and overgrown nails.
“Her skin would have been like this for at least two months,” the fiscal depute told the court.
Site inspection
Later that morning, police and SSPCA officers descended on the farm.
“The premises was described as chaotic and hazardous,” Mr Harding said.
Chowdhury was not at the house when they arrived.
The team found groups of puppies and kittens kept within the property, and larger dogs in homemade kennels out back.
“The stench inside the house of faeces and urine was extremely strong,” Mr Harding told the court. “It was stuffy because all of the windows were closed.
“No food or water was evident in most rooms.”
The court heard that outside kennels were also strewn with filth and dog waste.
There were barely any dog beds and the accommodation was not water tight.
“Some of these kennels had no non-artificial light and all inside areas were dark,” the fiscal depute said.
“All the dogs themselves seemed to be desperate to get out and had eaten through areas, leaving holes, and had gnawed through wood.”
The court heard the cats’ enclosures were “excessively dirty, to the extent they were overflowing”.
SSPCA inspectors ruled the site was “unacceptable and unhygienic,” leaving dogs prone to disease.
“There was no provision to prevent the spread of disease or infection, therefore likely to cause suffering,” said Mr Harding.
Rescue operation
Documents recovered from the cottage named Chowdhury as the person responsible for the animals.
He was phoned from the site by an SSCPA inspector.
He claimed he was in a Covid tier three area in Manchester, and could not travel to Perthshire.
The businessman was told that his animals would be seized.
All puppies and a starving Bengal kitten were the first to be rescued. They were loaded into a van and taken to an animal rescue and rehoming centre.
En route, the animals drank from a water bowl “ravenously”.
The kitten – called Bella – was found to be suffering from multiple diseases and a condition known as star-gazing that caused her head to tilt upright.
“Unfortunately, despite working hard to improve Bella’s quality of life, she developed chronic cat flu, due to changes in the bones inside her airways,” Mr Harding said.
“Her welfare was discussed and it was agreed she should be euthanised as they could not secure a quality of life for her.”
SSPCA’s legal success
Mr Harding said that an inspection of the animals found some “zoonotic” pathogens.
“That means they could effect humans as well as other animals,” he said. “Any animals sold from the premises represented a potential public health risk.”
The site was described as “hugely unhygienic, poorly organised, inhumane and placed animals in danger”.
Following legal action against Chowdhury’s firm in 2021, the SSPCA won permission to rehome all the surviving cats and dogs.
“They are all now being groomed and cared for regularly,” said Mr Harding.
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