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The Scotsman: £300 fine for man who ran bogus pet shop from flat

Published Date: 17 April 2009
By Paul Thornton

A MAN who ran an illegal pet shop from a city flat has been fined £300.
Ben McLeod, 50, advertised dogs for sale on social websites and in local free papers and kept several animals at his home, despite not having suitable facilities or a licence.

He boasted that it was "his business to get people any dog they wanted" and would take unwanted pets to sell on.

The bogus animal store came to light when worried customers reported him to police in June last year.

McLeod claims he asked the local authority for advice on how to get a licence but was told he did not need one.

However, yesterday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court he admitted a breach of the Pet Animals Act and was fined.

The court heard how McLeod would advertise dogs for sale in local free papers and on the Gumtree website – a social website for adverts ranging from homes to rent to sports teams looking for members.

McLeod ran two separate businesses called "Cute Wee Dogs, Scotland's Number One" and "Scotland K9".

Fiscal depute Graham Fraser told the court of four separate incidents where people had responded to adverts.

Mr Fraser said they had all gone to an address in Edinburgh's Fountainbridge area where they had viewed and in some cases bought animals.

Edinburgh Evening News: Man fined for running pet shop from home

Published Date: 17 April 2009
By Paul Thornton
A MAN who ran an illegal pet shop from a flat in the Capital boasting he could get people "any dog they wanted" has been fined £300.
Ben McLeod, 50, advertised dogs for sale on social websites and in local free papers and kept several animals at his home, despite not having suitable facilities or a licence.

He boasted that it was "his business to get people any dog they wanted"and would take on unwanted pets before selling them.

The bogus animal store came to light when worried customers reported him to police in June last year.

McLeod claims he asked the local authority for advice on how to get a licence but was told he did not need one.

But yesterday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, he admitted a breach of the Pet Animals Act and was fined.

The court heard how McLeod would advertise dogs for sale in local free papers and on the Gumtree advertising website.

McLeod ran two separate businesses called "Cute Wee Dogs, Scotland's Number One" and "Scotland K9".

Fiscal depute Graham Fraser told the court of four separate incidents where people had responded to adverts.

Mr Fraser said they had all gone to an address in the Fountainbridge area where they had viewed and in some cases bought animals.

The customers noted that McLeod had several mobile telephones as well as landlines on which there were stickers with the name of the business to which they applied.

Mr Fraser said one customer noticed as many as four dogs being kept in the Yeaman Place flat.

McLeod's solicitor, David Allan, insisted that the dogs were cared for and were never mistreated.

Mr Allan said: "There is no suggestion that the dogs were badly treated or were unwell. At most, there were four dogs in the flat at any one time.

"Initially he had simply been re-housing dogs that were unwanted by their owners and sold them on, that process had gathered pace and he had started trading dogs."

Mr Allan said McLeod had applied for a licence to run a business but was left under the impression he did not need one.

He said: "He did contact the council to make enquiries about the appropriate licence but the council were not helpful and the information he was given was that he did not need a licence."

Sheriff Kenneth Maciver said that since there was no mistreatment of the animals, he could deal with the matter through a fine.

He said: "I have to accept that this case is a simple breach of a legal requirement for anyone who is involved in a commercial transaction."

Sheriff Maciver added that he suspected McLeod had sold many more pets than had been revealed.