Police seizes dog trainer after distressing video prompts raid
A dog trainer in Abergavenny, Wales, has been seized, after police and the RPSCA were alerted to allegations of poor conditions and mistreatment of dogs.
It follows a social media post from Abergavenny dog trainer Richard Miller, who runs The DogFather Abergavenny, containing a video showing a man punching a dog.
“I had multiple phone calls pleading with me to look into a very worrying dog training Facebook advertisement which was showing dogs off lead lying in a main road, dogs with cropped ears, and dogs doing bitework training (a type of training usually specifically for police dogs),” he said on the post.
“Most recently I have come into contact with someone who has provided me with video evidence of Matthew Russell’s dogs fighting with each other to the point of blood being drawn and also video footage of Mathew violently punching his dogs.”
Having liaised with Gwent Police, the trainer in question has been arrested, Miller said, adding: “[He] is facing prosecution for multiple crimes, including animal abuse, and the dogs have been removed from him.”
A spokesperson for Gwent Police told Abergavenny Chronicle: “We carried out a warrant under the Animal Welfare Act in Underhill Crescent, Abergavenny, on Wednesday 3 August.
