Man admits illegal ear cropping of seven dogs in Southampton

Seyed Hussain Alavizadeh is now due to be sentenced after he pleaded guilty to seven charges at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday. 

The 40-year-old of Laburnum Road, Southampton pleaded guilty to seven counts of carrying out a prohibited procedure on a protected animal. 

These relate to the cropping of ears of seven bully-type dogs named Bora, RZA, Mr T or Tank, Nala, Ice Berg, Ghost and Mooncake. 

READ MORE: Lorry driver in court after woman hit by slabs in Lyndhurst

The offences were all carried out in Southampton between December 28, 2021 and March 18, 2022. 

Alavizadeh previously denied the allegations during an appearance at Southampton Magistrates' Court in February.

Alavizadeh's barrister, Andrew Houston asked for a pre-sentence report and requested the case be adjourned to a later date. 

Judge Christopher Parker advised the defendant to remain in contact with his barristers. 

Alavizadeh spoke only to confirm his name and to plead to the charges against him.

He was released on bail to appear at the same court for sentence on May 16. 

Magistrates are due to hear two applications on April 18 to confiscate 13 Bully-type dogs taken under the Animal Welfare Act.

They are called Bora, Ziba, Chad, Rita, Pam, Sandy, George, and Ziba's offspring - named Hades, Mirabelle, Juliet, Gus, Bryson and Tank.

Photos released by the RSPCA following the guilty plea show Bora with her cropped ears in what appears to be the garden of a property.

The RSPCA says on its website: "Ear cropping is generally done on puppies between six and 12 weeks.

"It's increasingly popular in certain breeds and types of dogs - including cane corsos and American bullies, where part or all of the entire ear flap is commonly removed.

"This can be extremely traumatic for the puppy and cause permanent damage."

In some countries, cropped ears are considered a breed standard for some bull-breeds.

Other breeds, such as Dobermans, have their ears cropped and splinted.