Gloucester councillor fined £30k after running illegal puppy farm
Alastair Chambers pleaded guilty to running the battery farm in 2022
Last updated 16th Nov 2024
A Gloucester councillor has been ordered to pay £30,000 to the Council after he was found to be running an illegal puppy farm.
Alastair Chambers, who had been associated with the Conservatives, pleaded guilty to the offences in June of 2022 after his home was raided by police in July of 2020.
Chambers, who is 43 and from Manor Farm Way in Quedgeley admitted to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act of breeding dogs without a licence and selling pets without a licence between June 2020 and May 2021.
In total, 25 dogs were found by officers during the raid on his farm, resulting in his prosecution.
Following this, Chambers was disqualified from dealing with animals including transporting them for ten years, starting from December 2023.
In June, he was ordered to pay £49,823.36 in damages, and has now been ordered to pay an additional £30,000 in legal costs back to Gloucester City Council over three years.
Chambers, who now sits as an "Independent Conservative" on the Council, was also sentenced to an 18-month community order, with over 150 hours of unpaid works to be done over the course of a year.
The councillor has maintained he does not mistreat his dogs, and insisted he is allowed to keep all his pets.