The trials of Kerrie Fitzpatrick
Home > Latest News | 07 Feb 2019
Kerrie Fitzpatrick has been inflicting pain, fear, stress, trauma and long term damage to the dogs on her puppy factories for many years.
In May 2015, the Oscar's Law team was in court to witness Kerrie Fitzpatrick being found guilty of 68 charges relating to the Domestic Animals Act and fined $40,000 with a conviction recorded. Dogs were found in appalling and inadequate conditions, as well as being kept in undersized pens. Fitzpatrick also admitted in court that she did not pay tax on the income she earned selling puppies. RSPCA Victoria seized all the dogs.
After this court case concluded, Kerrie and her then partner Colin Ross moved to another property in Victoria, 550 acres in Bridgewater, and simply started once again.
In February 2017, Kerrie Fitzpatrick was again back in court, this time facing 41 charges relating to the Victorian Domestic Animals Act.
Council had found dogs of various breeds with inadequate water, living in faeces-covered pens and with various medical conditions. Fitzpatrick was convicted and fined $45,000 and ordered to pay $13,206 in court costs. Kerrie Fitzpatrick appealed the case and lost.In July 2017, Fitzpatrick was again convicted of cruelty after 36 dogs were seized from her property in 2015. The dogs living conditions were appalling and many dogs suffered severe psychological damage due to lack of handling, poor living conditions, and lack of socialisation. Fitzpatrick refused to surrender the dogs. However, the court imposed a 10-year banning order and the dogs were all eventually rehomed.
Colin Ross and Kerrie Fitzpatrick once again relocated, this time to South Australia. Kerrie Fitzpatrick purchased a property in Lameroo and 'stocked' it with 300 dogs
Banning orders and court imposed orders issued in Victoria are not recognised interstate - a loophole that allows convicted cruel puppy farmers to move interstate once convicted in order to start again.
In 2018 RSPCA South Australia launched an investigation into Kerrie Fitzpatrick and Colin Ross after raiding their puppy factory and seizing dogs and puppies.
Over 300 dogs and puppies were living in crowded putrid cages. In fact conditions were so bad that the local Council emailed Kerrie Fitzpatrick warning her that she was breaching the South Australian Public Health Act. The dogs were severely traumatised.
Early in 2019 after the RSPCA raided the Lameroo puppy factory and seized some dogs, a disinformation campaign was started by some of Kerrie Fitzpatrick's supporters incorrectly stating that RSPCA SA were going to return, seize dogs and have them all killed. This was blatantly untrue and was specifically designed as a distraction from what was about to happen. Fitzpatrick surrendered some dogs to rescue in order to play into the disinformation campaign, but the majority of the dogs were loaded into dog trailers and driven all the way to a Queensland puppy factory owned by Fitzpatrick's associates. These QLD puppy farmers had relocated from Victoria after new legislation was introduced in 2017.
The transport of these dogs took many days and inflicted even more distress on already traumatised dogs.
Whilst the disinformation campaign continued, we followed the dogs to QLD and reported the properties to RSPCA QLD. They raided these properties , seized dogs and the owners were charged.
Fitzpatrick made her way back to South Australia and both her and Colin Ross were eventually charged.
Late 2021 early 2022 Kerrie Fitzpatrick sold one of her properties in Victoria and purchased a second property in South Australia and continued to operate a puppy factory.
In 2021 Colin Ross plead guilty to 10 counts of animal mistreatment and 6 counts of failure to comply with animal welfare notice and was fined over $8,000 with conviction recorded. Colin Ross was also prohibited from owning dogs other than 4 desexed dogs.
Kerrie Fitzpatrick plead not guilty and the case went to trial.
2023 August 1st Kerrie Fitzpatrick was found guilty on 16 animal cruelty charges and sentenced to 3 months imprisonment suspended on a $500 good behavior bond, ordered to pay costs of over $20,000 and fined $5,000
2023 October 17th RSPCA South Australia and SA police raid Kerrie Fitzpatrick's Lewiston puppy factory.
A new investigation has now been launched.
2023 November 7th - Kerrie Fitzpatrick is charged with failing to comply with court order and hinder or obstruct an inspector in exercise of powers. Case adjourned until December 7th 2023
Kerrie Fitzpatrick photographed in 2023
Police and RSPCA SA raid Kerrie Fitzpatrick's puppy factory October 17th 2023
end puppy factories