Man banned over animal cruelty offences

A man who was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs and selling them without a licence has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

Christopher Gorman, 54, has also been made subject of a six-month restriction of liberty order and been fined £500.

Gorman, who kept the dogs in the back yard of his home in Airdrie, was convicted of 10 animal abuse offences.

Sheriff Derek O'Carroll said he had shown "no remorse".

Passing sentence, he said Gorman had acquired a large number of dogs from England and Lithuania between June and October 2015.

Wholly unqualified

He kept them in his home and garden, where they lived in an "unsuitable and unhygienic environment", before selling them for profit.

Sheriff O'Carroll said Gorman had been "wholly unqualified to provide proper care and treatment for the dogs".

They were rescued by the Scottish SPCA - but Gorman then acquired more dogs, and continued to keep them in the same conditions.

The SSPCA visited his home again on 19 January 2016 and removed the animals, one of which had to be put down.

Sheriff O'Carroll told Gorman: "These dogs were also subject to unnecessary suffering as a result of your actions and neglect."

He said the 54-year-old had denied responsibility and maintained that the condition of the dogs was not his fault.

"The court reports prepared on you show that you have no remorse whatsoever," he added.

Gorman was banned from keeping animals or running a pet shop for 10 years.

The restriction of liberty order means he will be tagged and will be unable to leave his home between 19:00 and 07:00 each day.

The Crown has estimated that Gorman had assets totalling more than £1.2m, and that his actions had left the SSPCA with a bill for more than £354,000.

However, the sheriff said that he did not have the power to make a compensation order as part of the sentence.