Firm axed after Army dogs forced to live in squalor

Firm axed after Army dogs forced to live in squalor

The Ministry of Defence has axed an £11million contract with a
company that forced more than 100 dogs to live in squalor.The
cancellation of the contract with Realm Services at the Defence Animal
Centre at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, is the first time that Labour
has ended a Private Finance Initiative deal since coming to power 13
years ago.Conditions
at the site were so bad that 120 of the 200 labradors, spaniels and
alsatians - many of which are deployed to sniff out bombs and weapons
in Afghanistan - have since been sent to private kennels at a total
cost of £1,200 a day.The dogs had been locked in cruel conditions for
up to 20 hours a day and slept on a thin layer of hay in
unheated wooden sheds.The
MoD confirmed last night that Realm Services, which won the 25-year
contract in 2000, was being removed after the site was branded 'unfit
for animal habitation' by inspectors. It
is understood MoD lawyers are refusing to pay the full amount for the
contract so far - about £4million - and may sue for costs incurred as a
result of Realm's alleged failures.The
80 dogs still at the centre are living in more comfortable quarters.
Sources say all the kennels will be rebuilt, at a cost of up to
£4million to the taxpayer. Defence
officials denied the training of dogs would be affected. But Army
trainers are concerned their job will be more difficult because so many
dogs are now living alongside pets and will need to be transported to
training grounds. Colonel
Richard Kemp, a former commanding officer in Afghanistan, said: 'The
dogs are a vital weapon in fighting the threat of Taliban bombs.
Anything that disrupts their training is bad for our troops.'
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