A Glenavy woman has pleaded guilty to charges under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011 (30th October 2025 at Lisburn Magistrates Court).
Paula McIvor of 73 Belfast Road, Glenavy pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Tonks the border collie and failing to meet the needs of Steve the bichon frisé and Sam the golden retriever.
The charges date back to August 2023 when LCCC’s Animal Welfare Service received a complaint regarding concerns for animals boarded at Waggies Pet Hotel at 73 Belfast Road, Glenavy.
Officers found conditions at the facility breached animal welfare legislation. Legal action commenced after McIvor failed to comply with advice to cease operating at the property.
District Judge Watters ordered McIvor to pay £528 towards the council’s legal costs, £1,000 in compensation to Tonks’s owner, and £500 each to Sam’s owner and to Steve’s owner. She also received a lifetime disqualification order for all animals, a deprivation order for any animals in her care, and a ten-month custodial sentence suspended for three years.