
Animal welfare inspector in tears as she told court of worst case of animal cruelty she had seen
Caroline Faherty, ISPCA animal welfare inspector, said she was so overcome by the stench from a shed where an emaciated German shepherd mother and pups were found with faeces matted into their coats that she had to step out several times to retch during her inspection.
Collie pups in similar condition also had to be rescued from the cruel conditions.
'I still have nightmares of going into the shed,' Ms Faherty testified at Cork Circuit Appeals Court on Wednesday.
Prosecution barrister Meg Burke said Vasyl Fedoryn, of Ballypierce, Charleville, Co Cork, was sentenced to three months in prison at Mallow District Court, fined €500 and ordered to pay almost €20,000 in costs, as well as being banned from keeping animals for any kind for the next 15 years.
Paula McCarthy, barrister for the appellant, said Mr Fedoryn had pleaded guilty to the offences and was only appealing the custodial sentence, not any of the other penalties.
Ms Faherty said collies and German shepherds were working dogs and needed to be exercised and socialised, but that in this case, not alone did they not get that, but they were left locked up in small sheds without regular food or water and became emaciated, infested with maggots, matted with faeces and, in some instances, unable to walk.
Some of the dogs had to be "put to sleep", the inspector said.
'He was completely unrepentant, he did not think there was any issue. And he was going to do everything [such as building bigger sheds] but he never did anything,' Ms Faherty said.
Ms McCarthy, for the defence, said Mr Fedoryn did get it now and was fully remorseful. She said he had no convictions and was otherwise leading a productive life.
Judge Boyle said while considering the appeal over lunchbreak, she was remanding the appellant in custody until the afternoon.
The judge said of the cruelty shown to these 13 dogs: 'They need love, care and attention. They got none of that when they were under his control.'
Agreeing to allow the appeal against the custodial sentence, the judge imposed a suspended five-month sentence and a 240-hour community service order and let the financial penalties remain.
Referring to Mr Fedoryn's remand in custody for a couple of hours on Wednesday, Judge Boyle said: 'You have spent some time in a prison cell. I felt I had to show you the inside of a prison cell because of what you did.'
Evidence
Previously at Mallow District Court, the evidence included descriptions of dogs in dark, filthy, rodent-infested pens. Two dogs looked like they had been trying to dig themselves out of their pen, which had no water.
The 41-year-old did not understand how to properly keep animals and was working long hours away from home, trying to earn money for his family and to send back to loved ones in his native Ukraine, his solicitor Denis Linehan said.
His actions had not been financially motivated and he had not been running a puppy farm, Mr Linehan said.
He has been an Irish citizen since 2013, and pleaded guilty to nine of 14 offences, five of which were withdrawn. The charges were brought under the Animal Health and Welfare Act following an inspection on April 21, 2023.
Although he had been ordered not to keep any animals when he was last in court, ISPCA inspector Caroline Faherty had visited the property on two occasions since and found multiple cats there, the court heard.
Judge Colm Roberts fined him €500 on one charge. He sentenced him to one month in prison on the second charge; two months in prison on two charges; three months in prison on three charges; and five months in prison with two months suspended for one year on two charges.
He was also disqualified from owning domestic or commercial animals for 15 years.
'If he is found to have one little cat or one little mouse", he'll be in breach of his bail conditions, Judge Roberts warned.
He was also to pay veterinary and kennel costs of €16,450.30 to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and €3,000 in the State's legal fees.
Ms Faherty had to break padlocks to get into one shed. The smell was so putrid she repeatedly retched, and there was so much faeces and sewerage she had to change into oilskins and rubber boots to inspect it.
'I was horrified at the state of the poor dogs in there,' Ms Faherty said.
I made the decision I had to seize the dogs and puppies as they were in danger.
The dogs were all 'extremely nervous' and were very difficult to remove, she said.
Hens were also being kept there with no bedding, and rats were clearly living in the sheds — having burrowed through piles of rubbish.
Although food and bedding was on site, it had not been made accessible to the animals.
Sewers and drains were overflowing with sewage and water, Ms Faherty said.
One dog, who was lactating and therefore needed extra liquids, was so thirsty that when Ms Faherty gave her water she drank so much that the water had to be removed temporarily out of fear for the dog's welfare.
Although one German shepherd and her pups were not in a terrible condition, juvenile dogs were emaciated, with no muscle mass.
Feral young dogs could not walk across uneven ground because their limbs were so damaged, the court heard. Video showed dogs whimpering in filthy, dark conditions, surrounded by piles of excrement.
More than €16,450 was spent trying to rehabilitate the animals, with care, intensive nutrition, physiotherapy, and major veterinary interventions. However, despite best efforts to save the dogs, four had to be euthanised.
Three juvenile collies were so traumatised weeks after they were rescued they had to be put down because no one could get near them, Ms Faherty said.
A young German shepherd's limbs were so deformed he had to be put down as he could not bear the weight when he grew.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Journal
9 hours ago
- The Journal
Four dead after passenger train derails in southern Germany
FOUR PEOPLE HAVE died after a regional train carrying about 100 passengers derailed in southwestern Germany, police said. 'The accident occurred at around 6:10 pm (5:10pm Irish time) near the town of Riedlingen in Baden-Wuerttemberg state,' a police spokesperson told news agency AFP. Advertisement According to German daily Bild, the passenger train was travelling from the German town of Sigmaringen to the city of Ulm when at least two train carriages derailed in a wooded area. Footage from the scene of the accident showed yellow-and-grey-coloured train carriages lying on their sides, as firefighters and emergency services were trying to gain access to the passengers. It was not immediately clear what had caused the accident.


Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Irish Independent
At least three dead after train derails in southern Germany
Breaking | At least three people have been killed and several others were seriously injured when a regional passenger train derailed in southern Germany, authorities said. Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Riedlingen remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear how many people had been injured. Roughly 100 people were on board the train at the time of the crash, roughly 98 miles west of Munich. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in a post on social platform X, said he mourned the victims and passed on his condolences to their families.


The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Several dead and seriously injured with passengers left trapped after train derails in Germany
SEVERAL people have been killed and others injured after a train with 100 passengers derailed in southwestern Germany. The tragic incident took place in the town of Biberach - near the border with France - on Sunday evening. Advertisement 3 A train derailed in southwestern Germany Credit: 3 Several people have been killed, German media reports Credit: 3 Rescue workers search for passengers in the derailed train Credit: The train derailed in Baden-Württemberg at around 6.10pm near Zwiefaltendorf in the Biberach district, A spokesperson for the Federal Police Stuttgart told Bild: 'Two carriages of the Deutsche Bahn regional express have derailed.' 'At least three are injured. The severity of their injuries cannot be confirmed at this time,' the spokesperson added. More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos . Advertisement Like us on Facebook at