Swansea Crown Court dismissed Matthew Mark Andrews’s appeal against a ten-year ban on keeping animals on 18 September 2026, according to Swansea Bay News. The report says the court upheld the disqualification because it was concerned about a “high probability of neglect in the future.”
What happened in the appeal?
Andrews argued that there was no need for an animal-keeping ban. The appeal concerned the ten-year disqualification imposed after he pleaded guilty to failing to meet his dog Pandora’s needs under the Animal Welfare Act. It did not challenge the other parts of the magistrates’ sentence: a 12-week custodial term suspended for 12 months and 20 rehabilitation activity days.
Swansea Bay News reported that Swansea Crown Court dismissed the appeal and added £750 in appeal costs to the £400 costs ordered by magistrates. The report says the ban is expected to remain in place until summer 2036; it does not give an exact end date.
Why did the court uphold the ban?
Swansea Bay News attributes this explanation to the court: “This was gross and long-standing neglect. The defendant should not have any animals for a significant period. We are concerned about a high probability of neglect in the future.” The reported concern was specific to Andrews’s case; it should not be read as a general prediction about people convicted of animal neglect.
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The report does not identify the judge or judges who made the decision. The primary appeal judgment and a formal case citation were not available in the reporting, so the full reasoning and exact order cannot be independently confirmed from that account.
What happened to Pandora?
According to Swansea Bay News’s account of what the courts heard, Pandora weighed 25 kg in August 2023. On 21 November 2025, Andrews contacted the PDSA because she had not eaten for four or five days and had lost weight. She then weighed 18.4 kg.
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A veterinarian reportedly found Pandora severely emaciated, with her spine, ribs and hips readily visible. Her condition was so severe that her pregnancy was not apparent; a scan showed seven to nine puppies. She also had a chronic yeast skin infection and a twisted section of small intestine.
Pandora underwent emergency surgery but later developed another blockage. The report says veterinarians concluded she would not survive another major operation, so she was euthanized. Her puppies died with her.
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- November 2025: Andrews contacted the PDSA about Pandora’s lack of appetite and weight loss, according to the report.
- July 2026: He pleaded guilty to failing to meet Pandora’s needs. Swansea magistrates imposed a 12-week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months, 20 rehabilitation activity days, a ten-year animal-keeping disqualification and £400 in costs.
- 18 September 2026: Swansea Crown Court dismissed the appeal against the disqualification and ordered a further £750 in costs, as reported by Swansea Bay News.
The account of the outcome and hearing details comes from Alastair Isaac’s Swansea Bay News report, published 3 October 2026. It reports the appeal result and quotes the court, but is not the appeal judgment itself.
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