A DOG breeder and her husband have been given bail pending an appeal against their jail sentences for cruelty to more than a dozen Red Setters.

The T&A can reveal that during a hearing at Bradford Crown Court yesterday a judge agreed to an application for bail on behalf of Margaret and Gary Mazan who were both jailed last week.

Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court heard how 14 Red Setters were seized from their Bradford home in January last year after they were found being kept in the "worst conditions ever seen" by an RSPCA inspector.

The pair were also given a lifetime ban against owning or keeping any animal, and told they could not appeal against that order for at least 25 years.

The Mazans had been found guilty of seven breaches of the Animal Welfare Act following a two-day trial at the magistrates' court last month

Magistrates were told that during a raid by RSPCA and the police on the Mazans' home, some of the dogs were found in filthy cages in a shed, with others kept in cramped cages in the kitchen of the house in Swain House Road, Swain House.

The couple were found to have caused unnecessary suffering to some of the dogs by failing to seek veterinary care for a condition affecting their eyes, and injuries to their tails.

All of the animals were also found to be dehydrated due to a lack of fresh drinking water, and had not been provided with a suitable diet.

Margaret Mazan, 53, was said to have shown and bred setters for more than ten years, with dogs that were not needed for showing being sold to other owners.

Gary Mazan, a 51-year-old long distance lorry driver, had argued that the dogs were his wife's responsibility, but was found to be jointly culpable for their welfare.

Dingle Clark, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, told the court that boarding costs for the dogs since they were seized had reached £48,000, with an additional £7,000 in vets fees.

Sentencing the pair to 26 weeks in jail, chairman of the bench, Allie Coward, said: "We have considered all the evidence, and this was the most heinous act of cruelty against defenceless animals we have ever seen."

The couple's lawyer Sean Smith lodged an immediate appeal against the sentence and asked that the pair be granted bail ahead of any appeal hearing at Bradford Crown Court.

The magistrates refused the bail application last week, but this morning the couple's case was listed before Judge Jonathan Rose at the crown court for a hearing in chambers.

Following a hearing behind closed doors the judge decided that the couple could be granted bail pending their appeal against their jail sentences.

A date for the appeal hearing at the crown court has been set for June 25.

After the magistrates hearing last week Emma Ellis, an RSPCA inspector for Bradford who attended the scene and helped to seize the animals, said the conditions the dogs were being kept in were the worst she had ever seen, and "wholly unacceptable".

"I am delighted this case has been taken so seriously," she said.

"The dogs had a miserable existence, and I am pleased the magistrates have recognised that and reflected it in the sentence they have passed.

"We would be extremely confident if the case goes to an appeal, as the evidence against the Mazans is overwhelming."