Overview
- Oaveed Rahman was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court to five years in prison and banned for life from owning dogs or cats, with eligibility to apply to lift the ban after 15 years.
- He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to 21 dogs and one cat, 11 counts of fraud by false representation, and possession of a banned XL bully, and was made subject to a deprivation order for seized animals.
- Police and a vet found 37 dead dogs during a May 2025 raid at the Crays Hill property and uncovered four more after a shed was demolished, with live dogs left among decomposing bodies, faeces and rats.
- Of 21 dogs found alive, three were later euthanised due to severe illness and one poodle went blind, while the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and National Animal Welfare Trust helped rehome survivors.
- Victims paid surrender fees and donations totalling about £4,800 to a service promoted as a charity despite a refused application, and investigators say they spoke to owners across more than 20 counties with the full extent likely never to be known.