Woman fined $11,000 for illegal dog-breeding and keeping unlicensed dogs

A 39-year-old woman was charged in court and fined $11,000 for the illegal breeding of puppies and the unlicensed ownership of 9 dogs in her pet shop, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in a press release on Wednesday (Jun 14).

Lin Xiaoqun pleaded guilty to one count of operating a pet farm without a licence and five counts of keeping unlicensed dogs.

Four other charges of keeping unlicensed dogs were taken into consideration in the sentencing.

Since their operation from 2006, Lin's pet shop, Ethans Pet Resort which was located at 67 Sungei Tengah Road, provided hotel daycare, grooming and training services other than the sale of dogs.

On 3 February 2017, the AVA conducted a routine inspection at Ethans Pet Resort and found several dog kennels in a room at the back of the pet shop.

The 10 adult dogs and four puppies being kept there were not in the pet shop's official records.

Nine out of the 10 adult dogs used for breeding were also not licensed, which include a Shiba Inu dog and two Weimaraner dogs.

Upon questioning, Lin confessed to using the 10 adult dogs for illegal breeding of puppies for sale at her pet shop premises.

AVA instructed Lin to stop the illegal breeding activities immediately, who voluntarily surrendered the 10 adult dogs and 4 puppies to AVA.

AVA subsequently worked with their rehoming partners to successfully rehome all 14 dogs.

According to their Facebook page, Ethans Pet Resort will be shutting down their only premise by July 1 2017.

In the press release, AVA mentioned, "Anyone found guilty of operating an unlicensed pet farm (with intent of breeding dogs for sale) can be fined up to $10,000, jailed up to 12 months, or both."

"Anyone found guilty of keeping unlicensed dogs can be fined up to $5,000."

While AVA continues to ensure that the necessary enforcement action is taken and raise awareness on animal welfare, members of the public can play their part by being vigilant.

Members of the public should promptly report cases of illegal animal ownership and breeding as well as animal cruelty to AVA via their 24-hour hotline, 1800-476-1600 or via their website.