A man barred from keeping animals was found with two dogs and seven puppies when police searched a Nottingham flat.
Owen Rippon was handed a lifetime ban in April 2023 after a video shared on social media showed him punching a female Staffordshire Bull Terrier/Boxer cross more than 40 times.
A second video showed him deliberately feeding her chocolate which is poisonous and can be fatal to dogs.
Rippon, then aged 18, was given a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
He was also banned from keeping animals for life. Under the ban, Rippon was disqualified from:
(a) owning animals,
(b) keeping animals,
(c) participating in the keeping of animals, and
(d) being party to an arrangement under which he is entitled to control or influence the way in which animals are kept.
On 2 January 2025, he was arrested after Nottinghamshire Police executed a search warrant at a flat in Annesley Grove, Radford, where he had been living at the time.
Officers entered the property and discovered two dogs and seven puppies. Following enquiries, it was established that Rippon did not own the dogs or puppies, but the fact that he was staying in the same property as them put him in breach of his court order.
One of the dogs was an XL Bully and was seized by officers as it was not registered, as required by UK law. The second dog was assessed and not classed as a dangerous dog, so it was returned to its owner along with the puppies.
Rippon, now 20, went on to plead guilty to breaching a disqualification imposed after conviction.
He was sentenced to six weeks in a young offenders’ institution after appearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday (7 February).
Sergeant Karl Browne, of the City Central neighbourhood policing team, said:
“When Rippon was issued an Animal Disqualification Order in 2023, it was made clear to him that he was not to have any involvement with animals for the rest of his life.
“It was therefore extremely disappointing when we received reports of him being around dogs so soon after the order was issued.
“As outlined in the court proceedings, he breached the order with no respect or regard for the police or courts, and so I’m pleased he’s now been punished with a custodial sentence.
“Offenders need to understand these restrictions have real teeth and that the courts take an extremely dim view when they are breached.
“Rippon would certainly have known he was in breach of his animal disqualification order, so I can only conclude he thought we’d never find out.
“As he has found to his cost, however, it is our business to monitor people made subject to court orders, and we do find out when they are breached.
“I hope this sentence serves as a warning to others about the consequences of ignoring such orders.”
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