CONVICTED (2024) | prolific backyard puppy and kitten breeders Grzegoraz Sylwester Zareba, born March 1972, of Flat 14 Sunnybank Court, Portway, Frome BA11 1QX and Anna Dorota Bitner, born July 1975, of 12 Coronation Road, Frome BA11 2BJ – left a German Shepherd to die after a long birth. Zareba and Bitner pleaded guilty to animal welfare offences in relation to the death from sepsis of a German Shepherd called Ira. Ira was left to die after struggling to give birth. The RSPCA launched an investigation in January 2024 after being contacted by a vet, who had been presented with a dead dog by Zareba and Bitner. The couple told the vet that Ira had gone into labour on Friday evening and had given birth to three puppies, but only two survived. They claimed Ira’s labour then stopped. But a post mortem revealed she had not passed all of her puppies, and died of sepsis as a result of internal bleeding. Zareba and Bitner claimed Ira was fine until the Monday evening, when she suddenly appeared unwell, but failed to seek vet care. Ira died on Tuesday morning. RSPCA Inspector Patrick Bailey, who investigated the case, said: “It is so upsetting to think about how she must have been feeling, emotionally and physically, as she endured such a prolonged, painful labour whilst she struggled to try and give birth, only to become fatally injured internally through her efforts.” “[It] is another sad example where money and profit appears to have been put before welfare and in doing so cost Ira her life, “The couple’s decision not to seek veterinary treatment at any stage, even at the point when they felt Ira had developed an infection and did appear to be unwell, is completely unacceptable,” The puppies were later found to be advertised for £1,000 each, which Mr Bailey said “speaks volumes about the incentive for ensuring their survival”. Sentencing | 20-year ban on keeping animals. BBC News