Convicted puppy farmer to face court after allegedly having nearly 100 dogs

A South Australian woman previously convicted of animal cruelty will face court tomorrow after being charged with breaching a court order that limited the number of dogs she was allowed to have.

Kerrie Fitzpatrick, 48, was handed a suspended jail sentence in August after being found guilty of 16 animal cruelty offences for keeping 300 dogs on a breeding farm in horrific conditions.

As part of her sentence, she was given a $500 good behaviour bond for three years, ordered to not have any dogs other than her two pets at the time, and told not to sell any animals.

In October, the RSPCA raided Fitzpatrick’s property in Lewiston, on the far northern outskirts of Adelaide, and seized 86 dogs and puppies that were allegedly in her care.

“Ms Fitzpatrick has been on our radar for some time, and this is an example of RSPCA South Australia performing its duty of care and actively enforcing prohibition orders,” RSPCA South Australia’s Chief Inspector Andrew Baker said in October.

“Ms Fitzpatrick was on the premises yesterday and we will be alleging that she is the sole owner of the property and that the dogs were in her custody, which puts her in breach of her court order.”

Fitzpatrick is due to face the Elizabeth Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Before her sentencing in August, the court heard Fitzpatrick had multiple convictions in Victoria, where she was handed a 10-year ban on working as a breeder before she moved to South Australia to do the same thing.

“If there was anyone who should have been obsessed about not being involved in a dog-selling business, it was you,” Magistrate Karim Soetratma said.