A woman has pleaded guilty to nine charges of animal cruelty in a northern NSW court.
Sixty-two-year-old Leith Gatenby faced the charges following the seizure of 51 coolies and mixed-breed dogs by RSPCA inspectors in March at a property near Gunnedah, and another 20 dogs seized during a follow-up visit in April.
RSPCA deputy chief inspector Scott Meyers said it was a frightening sight when he visited the property earlier this year in response to complaints.
"Probably one of the worst sort of squalid properties I've seen in relation to dogs in stacked cages, and rusty, filthy, dirty cages that hadn't been cleaned for an apparently long time — it's never easy," he said.
RSPCA NSW inspectors found a total of 73 dogs, 31 of which were seized and needed immediate treatment for serious health issues.
"Seventy-three dogs is a lot of dogs for anyone to have to look after and obviously that resulted in the conditions they were left in," Mr Meyers said.
Ms Gatenby, who previously operated at Borahview Coolies, faced Gunnedah Court on charges of aggravated cruelty in relation to one female coolie which had to be put down.
A further eight charges included failure to provide veterinary care for animals with a host of untreated health issues such as flea burdens, emaciation, ear infections, gastrointestinal parasites, and conjunctivitis.
The woman was sentenced to an 18-month good behaviour bond, fined more than $4,000 dollars, and prohibited from owning any more than five desexed dogs at a time.
