An illegal dog breeder in Eersel has to pay a penalty of 2500 euros for the fourth time in a row. He refuses to stop his breeding business in Eersel, despite a ruling by the Council of State. During a check, the municipality found 173 dogs on Wednesday, seven fewer than last week, but still 173 too many. A spokeswoman for the municipality announced this on Thursday morning.
The Council of State decided at the beginning of February that the dog breeder had to stop his business in Eersel in mid-March, but the breeder did not do that. The municipality then started imposing penalty payments three weeks ago.
New enforcement decision
The municipality has been checking every week since then, for a total of ten weeks. The maximum penalty is 25,000 euros if the breeder remains in default. If the maximum term of ten weeks has expired, the municipality can take a new enforcement decision. According to the spokeswoman, the breeder can then go to court again, which can take some time.
However, the spokeswoman is confident about a possible appeal procedure. “All arguments have now been reviewed, so a judge is not expected to decide otherwise in the new round,” she said.
Animal welfare at stake
Previously, during inspections by the NVWA, it appeared that the welfare of the animals was at stake and that the administration was not in order. During an earlier inspection this year, the NVWA took 435 dogs from the breeder that were not in good shape.
A spokeswoman for the NVWA confirms the municipality’s findings. The NVWA has not brought any dogs now, she said.
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