Overview
- Oaveed Rahman, 27, received a five-year prison term and a lifetime ban on keeping dogs and cats after pleading guilty to animal cruelty and fraud linked to his Save A Paw operation.
- Prosecutors said he admitted causing unnecessary suffering to 21 dogs and a cat and 11 counts of fraud by false representation.
- Essex Police found at least 41 dead animals and others in urgent need of care during a May 13, 2025 raid in Crays Hill, and an RSPCA vet said some, if not all, may have starved.
- Harrogate owner Emma Thompson said she paid £650 to have her dog Lennon rehomed through Save A Paw, only to learn he was among those found dead.
- Basildon Council has launched an internal review of its prior involvement and called for rehoming centres to require licences, as campaigners cite earlier warnings and suspect the true death toll is higher.