A judge has given a pair of convicted illegal puppy sellers three months to pay more than £150,000 – or face up to 18 months in prison.

William Derrick Perriton and Rebecca Heath, of Three Legged Cross, appeared in court in January following several years of investigation by Dorset Council officers regarding animal welfare offences and unlicensed breeding at an illegal puppy farm.
The pair pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, failing to take steps to ensure the needs of animals were met and carrying out a dog breeding and selling business for 14 months without a licence.

All puppies seized during the investigation were nursed back to full health and successfully rehomed.
Last month, Perriton and Heath were each sentenced to 200 hours of community service. However, the confiscation order and court costs faced by the pair were only confirmed by a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court on November 25.

For the confiscation order, Perriton was ordered to pay £115,000 or risk 18 months in prison. Heath was ordered to pay £34,840 or risk nine months in prison. Both will also need to pay £4,500 each in prosecution costs, with a victim surcharge of £85 each.
Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council portfolio holder for customer and community services, said: “This is a landmark case for Dorset Council, involving an enormous amount of work from officers in our Environmental Health, Legal and Trading Standards teams. “Anyone who truly loves dogs – or animals generally – needs to understand that using an unlicensed breeder to purchase a pet is effectively supporting an illegal business, often without any consideration of the welfare and environmental needs of the animals being sold.”