A man and woman who illegally imported 43 pet dogs before selling them without a licence have been charged with money laundering and animal transportation offences following interventions from Southampton City Council

Court proceedings were brought against Artur and Joanna Kramer after the council received reports of dogs being sold that had been mis-advertised and bred aboard. UK law states that pet sellers must meet certain conditions, including having a license issued by the local authority. Rules around keeping pets in suitable accommodation, given adequate food and water, and looked after by people who are trained to care for them, also apply. Artur and Joanna ran their fraudulent business by travelling to and from Poland, on average every six weeks, bringing back 10 falsely described puppy litters to sell over a year-long period. The couple used websites including Pets4Homes and Gumtree to advertise the puppies, with each being listed for in excess of £1,000. Despite being warned they were breaking the law, the Kramers’ illegal activity continued, prompting the council’s trading standards and animal welfare teams to step in with enforcement action. Artur and Joanna were each charged with one count of unlicensed puppy selling and one count of money laundering (totalling over £16,000), plus the illegal transportation of animals. Artur faced the additional charge of acting as a transporter when unauthorised to do so, and Joanna the illegal importation of 43 dogs. The Kramers pleaded guilty to all the offences and are due to be sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on 16 March 2022. Unlicenced pet sellers can go to prison for up to six months, be fined an unlimited amount and may be disqualified from running a pet business in the future. Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: “The rules around the sale of pets are important to protect animals and owners, so I’m thankful to council colleagues for pursuing enforcement action. The advice for anyone buying is to always watch out for extortionate prices, monitor sellers’ listing history, and only buy from reputable, licensed businesses.”