Two people convicted for puppy mill operation

A close-up of a dog's mouth is seen in this undated stock image. (Marek Piwnicki/Pexels.com)

The Ontario court has convicted two people for a puppy mill operation.

The offences fall under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019 (PAWS Act). These are the first convictions under the new Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act.

On Jan. 8, in the Ontario Court of Justice in the Chatham-Kent, Peter Wiebe and Aganetha Wiebe pled guilty to the following four offences under the PAWS Act:

-Fail to comply with Section 23.2(2) - Operate a puppy mill (two counts)

-Section 15(2) - Permit distress

-Section 30(4) - Fail to comply with an order

Peter Wiebe was fined a total of $5,000, exclusive of the Victim Fine Surcharge and was ordered to pay restitution of $11,486.66 for the cost of providing food, treatment and care for the dogs that were impacted by the offences.

The court also issued the following orders for both Peter Wiebe and Aganetha Wiebe:

-Lifetime ban on breeding or selling puppies and operating a kennel in Ontario

-Prohibition from owning any domestic animal for one year

Following the one-year animal prohibition, the following conditions were imposed:

-Own a maximum of two dogs

-Dogs must be licensed, spayed or neutered, and reside indoors

-Notify an animal welfare inspector of the number of animals, gender, breed, size and physical descriptors and proof of spay or neuter of each animal

-Permit random checks by an animal welfare inspector to determine the health of animals and must permit access to their property and residence to facilitate these checks.