Animal Neglect Leads to Five-Year Ban
A man who allowed a group of wolfdog hybrids to roam freely in the garden of his "filthy and uninhabitable" home in Grangemouth has been prohibited from keeping animals for five years.
The court heard that Graham McQuet frequently left the animals "effectively abandoned," with one developing a friction sore caused by wearing an electric shock collar.
Animals Left Unattended for Days
It was revealed that McQuet did not visit the property, where up to six wolfdogs were housed in kennels in the back garden, for several days at a time.
The 40-year-old was fined £2,075 at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Craig Harris noted that McQuet, who also worked as a dog trainer, valued the status the wolfdogs gave him, but the animals "suffered for his ego."
Poor Living Conditions and Animal Welfare Concerns
Investigators found minimal clean water available for the animals, which had resorted to drinking from a leaking garden tap.
The wolfdogs, hybrids imported from breeders in Russia and Eastern Europe, contained up to 98 percent wolf DNA, the court was informed.
One animal died due to blood loss after trapping and severing its leg in a cage.
McQuet stored the animal's body in a freezer and placed the severed leg in a wheelie bin, where it was later found with chew marks, indicating it had been gnawed by another animal post-mortem.
Deliberate Undernourishment and Escape Incidents
Prosecutor Karen Chambers stated that McQuet had "deliberately kept the animals undernourished so they looked more like wolves."
The situation came to light after one wolfdog chewed through a kennel roof and escaped.
Concerned neighbours, who had previously reported the wolves fighting and howling when McQuet was absent, contacted the SSPCA.
McQuet repeatedly denied SSPCA officers entry to assess the premises but they eventually obtained a warrant to search the property.
One neighbour described constant howling from the wolfdogs throughout the day and sometimes at night.
A video recorded from her window showed a large black wolf-like animal climbing onto a shed roof.
In another video, the animals were heard whimpering and appeared to be in pain.
She also noted that a kennel built for the animals was filthy, soiled with urine and feces, with an empty water bowl and no visible food.
Another neighbour reported that one of the animals had escaped multiple times, describing the animal's behaviour:
"She didn't growl at us she did sort of stare at us. She was very intense. She was very intimidating. It was almost like she was hunting us when she saw us."
Additional Animal Welfare Issues
A cat was found living in conditions described by the sheriff as "deplorable" and "neither fit for man nor beast," and a terrier dog was observed being attacked by the wolfdogs.
McQuet was found guilty of failing to meet the needs of the terrier and seven wolfdogs kept at the property between October 2019 and November 2022, as well as causing unnecessary suffering to the wolfdog with shock collar sores.
McQuet denied the charges, stating in evidence that he fed the animals bone, red meat, chicken feet, and kangaroo, and that except for exceptional occasions, he visited and exercised them daily.
He claimed to clean the animals' droppings daily and to jet-wash the garden twice a week.
Court's Consideration and Sentencing
Sheriff Harris considered that McQuet had voluntarily surrendered all surviving animals, all of which had recovered from health issues under his care.
The sheriff acknowledged that McQuet "clearly loved" the wolfdogs, noting his "heartfelt" emotion in a video where he said goodbye to them.
However, the sheriff stated to McQuet:
"I'm dealing with a sustained failure over a period of more than two years in relation to multiple animals where their needs were not met, taken together with an occasion when unnecessary suffering was caused to one, and you allowed a cat to live in squalid conditions."
Sanctuary Response and Animal Recovery
Little Zoo, the animal sanctuary that took in the wolfdogs, expressed being "horrified" at the condition in which the animals arrived, describing them as "unsocialised, terrified, injured and in poor body condition."
SSPCA Inspector Fiona Thorburn stated that Little Zoo had taken in the animals at "significant expense," emphasizing that their future would have been at risk otherwise.
Thorburn added:
"The wolfdogs have recovered physically from their neglect but behavioural damage from such poor conditions along with the inappropriate use of shock collars in their training will unfortunately remain.
Housing these animals in small domestic kennels, from which they at times escaped causing fear and alarm to nearby residents, was cruel and negligent."
