Man sentenced for importing Doberman puppies illegally
A Dorset man who illegally imported cropped and docked Doberman puppies into the UK has been jailed for more than 2 years.
Peter Harman from Weymouth operated an online business called UK Dobermans that specialised in importing cropped and docked puppies.
The cropping of dogs’ ears and the docking of their tails for aesthetic purposes is banned in the UK and most of Europe but the there is still demand for these dogs.
Since the business was set up in 2016, Harman had regular shipments of dogs imported with some selling for up to £3000 each.
In September 2019, officers from Dorset Trading Standards were contacted by the Animal and Plant Health Authority (APHA) Imports Team who had detained eight cropped and docked Doberman puppies at Eurotunnel.
Their passports showed they had Serbian microchip numbers but Romanian passports which raised suspicions as to their country of origin.
It had been the third failed attempt to transport the same dogs into the UK. While the dogs all had the same microchip numbers, the passports were different on the day the dogs were detained compared to one of the previous failed attempts to import the animals.
Trading Standards executed a warrant at Mr. Harman’s home address where he operated his business. Amongst the items seized were several mobile telephones and a laptop.
They were forensically examined which showed conversations between Harman and a Serbian based breeder of Doberman puppies.
Dorset Council says it was clear from these conversations that the puppies imported originated from outside the EU but were made to look as if they had originated from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and so could be legally imported into the UK.
Restrictions are in place on dogs coming from outside the EU is to ensure that rabies is not introduced to the country.
The investigation also found some dogs were too young to be imported into the UK.
Harman had pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business for a three year period; four offences of breaching Rabies import controls on numerous occasions and an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations of misleading claims in his advertising about the history and transportation of the animals.
He was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months in prison.