Court Result - Colney Heath Animal Welfare Case

Good Morning Resident

In July 2024 Hertfordshire Police were made aware of a video circulating online regarding the welfare of four dogs that had been left within a vehicle during high temperatures in Colney Heath. The Rural Operational Support Team (ROST) alongside officers from the London Colney Neighbourhood Policing Team commenced an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. 

Unfortunately, as a direct result of the dogs being left within the vehicle for a significant period of time, three of the dogs sadly died, with the remaining dog fortunately surviving due to high quality emergency veterinary care. 

The defendant, a 61 year female from Welwyn, Hertfordshire, was interviewed by ROST whereby she made a full admission to the offences, she was later charged with four counts of Causing Unnecessary Suffering to a Protected Animal contrary to the Animal Welfare Act 2006. 

The defendant appeared in St Albans Magistrates Court on September 26th and pled guilty to all four charges. She was issued with a community order and required to complete 100 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months. Ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £114. 

The police did apply to the courts for a banning order however this was declined by the Magistrate. 

“This was a tragic case whereby a pet owner had a significant lapse in judgement by making a mistake that consequently saw her family lose three beloved dogs, I would like to make it clear that this was not an intentionally malicious act by the defendant in this case but a criminal offence nonetheless and I would like to take this opportunity to remind all pet owners in Hertfordshire of the responsibility you take on when choosing to own animals, whether large or small, and that throughout their relatively short lives they rely upon us to keep them safe and protect them from harm. Hertfordshire Constabulary take all reports of animal welfare seriously and we work with our relevant partner agencies to ensure that a full investigation is carried out and that we prosecute offenders when appropriate.” – PC Michael Henry (ROST)