Judge says animal cruelty case is ‘one of worst cases I have come across’
Two of the dogs found on Mr Jackman's farm
“WHEN I heard the facts and saw the photos, it was one of the worst cases that I have come across on the bench,” Judge Geraldine Carthy said at the sentencing in Carlow District Court of 40-year-old Bernard Jackman of Munny Upper, Coolkenno, Carlow for 32 counts of dog cruelty.
In May, Mr Jackman pleaded guilty to 32 counts of dog cruelty following an inspection by a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) officer in October 2024, which led to 11 dogs being removed from his care for urgent medical treatment. The NSPCA had been contacted over concerns about the welfare of 20 dogs living on a farm at Munny Upper, Coolkenno, Shillelagh, Co Wicklow that Mr Jackman owns. Mr Jackman’s registered address is at another property he owns in Clonegal.
Mr Jackman had his case heard at Carlow District Court on 13 May, but the judge had delayed sentencing until a probation report was completed on Mr Jackman.
Reiterating the facts of the case, Judge Carthy said that Mr Jackman had failed to meet the dogs’ “basic welfare needs as they had no access to clean water or food” in the kennels they were housed in on the property. She reminded the court that the dogs were found in filthy conditions among “faeces and pools of urine”.
Many of the dogs had untreated skin conditions, infections and wounds, some from fighting that had broken out between the dogs as a lack of food makes the dogs more aggressive. Although Judge Carthy acknowledged that Mr Jackman denied being an illegal dog breeder, she said that he met the legal threshold to be considered as one.
Some of the dogs were found with their tails docked, which Judge Carthy reminded the court “is an offence in itself”.
Judge Carthy said that when deciding his sentence, she had taken into consideration his personal circumstances, previous offending history and substance misuse issues.
Mr Jackman’s defence lawyer John O’Sullivan said that Mr Jackman’s dogs had been in the care of another individual until not long before the inspection but that his client is fearful of this other individual so did not want to pursue it. Mr O’Sullivan said that his client wanted to show that he could stay out of trouble and keep engaging with the probation services.
The court heard that Mr Jackman’s probation report put him at a moderate risk of reoffending. Mr O’Sullivan pointed out the recommendation at the bottom of the probation report which said that Mr Jackman would be happy if the matter was to be resolved on a community basis so that he could continue to work on himself and for it not to impact on his daughter.
Judge Carthy sentenced Mr Jackman to ten months in prison, suspended for 24 months, with a €300 own bond, and banned him from ever owning animals again. The other dogs that were left in his care were ordered to be given up to the state, either that day or the next.
She also ordered him to pay a class A fine, the prosecution’s costs, which come to €3,000, to be paid within 120 days, and the rest of the NSPCA’s costs in looking after the dogs removed from his care, which come to €13,059.43, €6,100 of which has been paid, with the remaining to be paid within 12 weeks or Mr Jackman will be re-entered in court to activate his sentence.
The judge also expressed astonishment at the fact that the NSPCA’s costs, which were relayed to Mr Jackman at the May hearing, had not been paid, considering that Mr Jackman had told inspector Conlan that he was “not stuck for money”.
Mr O’Sullivan said that his client regretted saying that and that his personal circumstances had changed since then as he had become a father.
“Your client is fortunate to walk out of this court with his liberty. I think I have been more than fair,” Judge Carthy said as she concluded her sentencing.
Mr Jackman signed his bond in the court room before leaving.
