Animal abuse: Manitoba man jailed, wife fined, for hoarding 64 dogs

WINNIPEG – A man who crowded 64 dogs into a filthy building on a rural property has been sentenced to jail in one of the worst cases of animal abuse in Manitoba.

Peter Chernecki, who is 63, has been sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to charges under the province’s Animal Care Act.

His wife, Judith, who is 62, has been fined more than $21,500.

More than half of the dogs had to be destroyed after they were seized in 2010.

Court was told the dogs lived in darkness in a tiny cabin near Gull Lake, the floor covered in straw, mud and excrement.

Investigators found a nest of live rats in the building.

The couple has also been banned from owning animals for five years and have two weeks to get rid of 40 of their 42 cats.

Last month, Peter Chernecki told court he regretted what happened.

His wife said she never hurt or abused an animal.

(CJOB, The Canadian Press)