A man was condemned to a two-year jail term suspended for four years and fined €20,000 on Wednesday after being convicted of mistreating 23 dogs. He was also ordered to pay costs of almost €5,000 to the Association for Abandoned Animals, the Animal Welfare Directorate and the courts. 

Lewis Pace was prosecuted by the police after an animal welfare officer reported finding the dogs in a poor state in a house in Barth Street, Hamrun, in August last year.

The court heard how the dogs were found in squalor and in a state of neglect, living in their own waste. Some had not been electronically chipped as required by law. Some were kept in cages so small, they might have been good only for rabbits.

A veterinary report exhibited in court described the scene: "The
upkeep of the house was horrendous: no electricity, sticky floors with faeces and
urine scattered everywhere, walls included.... everything was brown and
smelly, from the entrance of the house up to the roof. Cleaning was a rare chore by Mr. Pace. The dog had no food nor water upon arrival, so Mr. Pace quickly started throwing dry food and fresh water in their bowl. Walking around the house we could see pairs of dogs caged together, clearly for breeding purposes. The cages were too small for the dogs."

Most dogs had overgrown nails, eye disease and some had general hair loss. 

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech in handing down judgement said that the fact that 23 dogs lived in a house full of filth, where some dogs were held two to a cage where they could hardly move, was nothing but a form of hardship which could never be justified.

Anyone who claimed to love animals would never leave them in such conditions, living in their own waste, seriously in need of veterinary attention.

Rather than loving his dogs, the court believed that the accused loved money and built a business through breeding the dogs with scant attention for their welfare.

Gone were the times when such actions were tolerated under the pretext that those involved did not know better, the court said. 

Before going into such activities, such people needed to know what was involved, what they were capable of, and what the law required to protect the animals from abuse. 

While it had been claimed that Pace loved his dogs as much as he would love his children, the evidence painted a different picture, the court continued. What Pace loved was the business he did with his dogs. Those who loved their children did not profit from them, did not sell them or force them on each other so they would breed more, for profit purposes.

The court in handing down sentence said it was not imposing a prison sentence in consideration of the poor health of the accused and because it did not consider him a danger to society. The punishment, however, had to reflect the seriousness of the crime.  

Commissioner welcomes court judgement

Animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzina welcomed the court decision.

"Do you remember this story? How can we forget? It was a nightmare for everyone involved," she wrote in a Facebook post.

"And now, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech just served this man with what he truly deserves, and we couldn't be more grateful."