R v Jennifer Clare Hopkins

Facts

The appellant, Jennifer Clare Hopkins, ran an animal sanctuary on a large farm near Whitland, taking in stray and rescue dogs without charge; she kept 29 dogs, among them Carpathian Mountain dogs, a large breed of livestock guarding dog from Romania. On 24 October 2023 at around 1.45 pm Sian Murrows, a Yodel delivery driver who had never been to the property before, took a parcel down the side of the house, opening a gate held closed by a piece of string. When she knocked on the door, three large waist-height dogs rushed out and all three bit her: the first to her left hand, leaving skin loss and exposed extensor tendons; the second to her right hip and buttock; the third to her left belt line and buttock. She escaped to her van, and the appellant drove her to hospital, where she underwent surgery and a tendon to her index finger had to be debrided. She lost her delivery job, was unable to drive for nine months and unable to work her farm, and was left with permanent scarring and restricted movement. The appellant, interviewed on 21 December 2023 but not charged until 22 April 2025, pleaded guilty at the plea and trial preparation hearing to an offence under section 3(1) and (4) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and was sentenced in the Crown Court at Swansea by His Honour Judge Rees. She appealed against sentence with the leave of the single judge.