Sentence: Ten months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 25 days of rehabilitation and 120 hours of unpaid work
Clare Hume, 42, of Tees Drive in Darlington, along with Sophie Hume and Kealan Hutchinson, operated an unlicensed business selling various breeds of puppies, including cavapoos, between May 2020 and April 2021. They set up false accounts on Gumtree and Pets4Home, bred dogs, collected puppies from sources including Northern Ireland, and misrepresented sales as domestic litters. There was no evidence of animal ill-treatment, but they conducted a substantial commercial operation without required checks or a licence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.