A six-month jail sentence imposed on a Lurgan woman for repeatedly breaching an animal disqualification order has been upheld by a county court judge.

Lisa Glendinning, 42, of Marlborough Park, pleaded guilty to nine charges of breaching a ban on keeping animals and one charge of failing to ensure the needs of an animal. The offences occurred between July 10, 2023 and May 17, 2024.

Members of the public reported seeing Glendinning walking a white dog on the Tandragee Road in July 2023. Similar breaches followed over the next ten months, each involving her being observed walking a dog in defiance of the prohibition.

On January 26, 2024, animal welfare officers and a vet executed a warrant at her home after a report that a dog was not being properly cared for. They found the back garden unkempt and an overpowering smell coming from the open back door. The kitchen was filled with waste and clutter, with no space to walk, and the fridge contained rotting food. The living room was similarly cluttered with debris. A tabby cat was discovered in an upstairs bedroom strewn with empty food tins and a heavily soiled litter tray nearby. The cat was removed and rehomed. Glendinning did not attend for interview.

The 20-year ban and jail term followed an earlier suspended sentence from 2022, when Glendinning admitted causing unnecessary suffering to animals. In that case, officers had uncovered 15 dogs in squalid conditions, with strong ammonia odours, faeces throughout the property, and no food. A dead parakeet was found with its head through the cage bars, and another animal carcass in a hamster run. She had been handed a six-month suspended sentence and a 10-year disqualification.

At the appeal hearing at Craigavon County Court, defence counsel Conor Lunny argued that the breaches were historic and Glendinning had not offended since. He described her as vulnerable and isolated, suggesting the sentence be deferred to monitor her behaviour. However, Judge Patrick McGurgan noted her previous convictions for driving while disqualified and concluded she had been given multiple chances but showed complete disregard for the law. He dismissed the appeal and affirmed the original sentences.