An alarming video of a Perthshire puppy farm shows dogs “desperate to get out” and starving cats living in squalor.
The footage was shot by SSPCA and police inspectors during a raid on Daanyaal Chowdhury’s security dog operation in Glenalmond.
The 10 minute clip, released to The Courier by prosecutors, shows a near-empty room crammed with puppies scrabbling to escape and a German Shepherd who has gnawed a hole through in his kennel.
On Thursday, Chowdhury was banned from keeping animals for five years after admitting three counts of neglect.
Outside Perth Sheriff Court, the 29-year-old boss of London-based K9 Cube Ltd told us he was a victim of “a miscarriage of justice.”
While stressing that he didn’t blame the six staff he had brought in to run the site, he questioned why they were not charged instead of him.
“It boils my blood,” he said.
Video evidence
Footage from inside dilapidated South Cairnies Farm Cottage was played in court.
Inspectors descended on the site after local vets raised the alarm about one of Chowdhury’s German Shepherds, Sophie, who came to them riddled with skin disease.
The animal welfare officers found more than 60 cats and dogs living in extreme squalor.
Cats were kept in wooden cages in a converted lounge, where bookcases were piled high with unopened boxes of food and supplies.
When inspectors opened the door to a back bedroom, they were swarmed on by puppies.
The back of the door was covered in claw marks.
There were just three empty bowls in the room, which was strewn with urine and dog mess.
Larger dogs, including German Shepherds and Rottweillers, were kept in homemade kennels outdoors.
The backyard area is filled with waste and there are visible holes in kennel walls were dogs – “desperate to get out,” as fiscal depute Andrew Harding described – having chomped through.
The video also shows thousands of pounds worth of cages – paid for by Chowdhury – that were never assembled.
Sheriff Garry Sutherland also noted that expensive brands of dog and cat food had been purchased for the animals.
Most of the animals were rehomed by the SSPCA following its successful civil case against Chowdhury’s company last year.
The court heard one of the cats became so sick with cat flu she had to be put to sleep.
‘Miscarriage of justice’ claim
Speaking outside court, Chowdhury complained he had been treated “like a drug dealer” by police.
He told us: “I wasn’t based at the farm. Because of Covid, I couldn’t travel and our business went to zero. All of our dogs were kennelled.
“I spent hundreds of thousands of pounds there, but we had six members of staff who weren’t doing their jobs correctly.
“Unfortunately, the charges were only brought against me, on the day I wasn’t there.
“I feel that has been a miscarriage of justice because why were the people there not charged?”
Chowdhury said the business had operated out of the site for three years previously, with no issues.
Staff member tells of ‘cruelty’
One worker who spent a day at the farm told us of the horrific conditions.
Tiegan Walker said she visited the property at the beginning of October 2020 after responding to a job advert on Gumtree but did not return after her first shift.
The qualified animal care worker was left in tears after witnessing the “horrible” conditions the animals were being kept in and reported the owner to the authorities.
She said: “It was all just horrific. They had the big German Shepherd, it was such a lovely dog, in a cupboard with the puppies.
“There was nowhere for her to move and there was no water for her.
“She was such a happy dog and for them to (do) that was just cruel.”
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