An Essex kennel owner has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of extensive animal cruelty and fraud. This marks the end of a horrific chapter for hundreds of pets, including dogs, monkeys, horses, and even a llama, who suffered under his care.

Oaveed Rahman, aged 26, masqueraded as a compassionate animal enthusiast to gain the trust of pet owners, convincing them to relinquish their challenging pets. Once in his possession, these animals were subjected to brutal treatment. Meanwhile, Rahman pocketed substantial sums from ‘rehoming’ and ‘training fees’, as well as donations.

The true scale of the abuse at Rahman’s residence in Basildon, Essex, is likely to remain undisclosed. Activists estimate that he may be responsible for the deaths of over 180 animals, though the actual number might be significantly higher. These animals suffered from starvation, dehydration, and neglect in deplorable conditions.

On Friday, Rahman was convicted of 22 counts of animal cruelty and 11 counts of fraud. Many heartbroken pet owners, who had entrusted their beloved animals to him, believe he committed these atrocities for financial gain. They fear that the actual death toll could be nearly five times higher than official records suggest.

Driven by avarice, Rahman, also known by the nickname Obi, exploited the demand for his services, earning up to £15,000 monthly by accepting pets that their owners found difficult to manage.

Deflecting criticism, Rahman would often play the race card when questioned about his treatment of the animals. Disturbingly, he even made jokes about ‘barbecuing’ the marmoset monkeys in his care, highlighting his complete disregard for animal welfare.

When police finally raided his ‘Save a Paw’ business in Crays Hill, near Basildon, Essex, last May, they found 41 dead dogs there or buried at other sites nearby – while others were close to death.

Rahman had promoted the site as a dog rescue and training centre – taking in hundreds of pets with a starting fee of £300 per animal just to take it in with fees ongoing afterwards.

Rahman was jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday but some of his victims claim that he will escape proper punishment because the deliberate killing of animals is not a recognised offence.

Under current criminal law there is no greater offence than ‘causing unnecessary suffering to an animal’ with no offence akin to murder or manslaughter.

This meant Rahman was only charged in relation to animals which were still barely alive when he was caught – but has not faced criminal charges in relation to the 41 dogs found dead, only 11 have been identified.

Campaigners who have assessed his social media account estimate at least 180 further animals may have been killed, including exotic animals.

Superintendent Leigh Norris, of Essex Police, said the authorities ‘will never truly know the extent’ of death and cruelty that took place at the so-called ‘Save A Paw’ animal centre in Crays Hill, Basildon.

Police working with RSPCA officers and council officials found a scene of unimaginable cruelty and squalor during the raid.

Inspector Steve Parry, of Essex Police, said: ‘The scenes which officers encountered, the treatment of the dogs found alive, and the scale of it were deeply upsetting for all who attended.

‘As a dog owner and lover, myself, this was an incredibly troubling investigation. I understand the strength of feeling around it because I feel it myself.

‘Where we could formally identify animals and their previous owners, contact was made and updates were given.

‘The remains of a number of animals were unfortunately unidentifiable. We would dearly love to have been able to update every previous owner who made reports to us, but this was not possible. The loss which previous owners feel is not lost on me.’

An RSPCA spokesman added: ‘This has been an extremely upsetting case for everyone involved, particularly those who entrusted dogs into the care of Save A Paw.’

After an investigation which spanned the length of the UK, dozens of owners say they still do not know if their dogs are dead or alive – and some have been critical of Essex Police.

Among those pets still missing-feared-dead is Sparko, a ‘truly lovely’ Cane Corso-cross.

He was sent to Rahman last January by his owner Michelle Halliday for training to stop him jumping up – but she never saw him again.

Ms Hailliday, from Leeds, told the Mail: ‘I spent hours on video calls with Rahman but he never showed his face, he always had a hoodie up and the lighting was down.

‘And when I’d ask to speak to Sparko he said “no because if he hears your voice it’ll set him back.”‘

By March, with her own concerns mounting, she managed to find other worried users of ‘Save A Paw’ and started to fear the worst.

She contacted Rahman again and offered him £10,000 just to get him back – but he didn’t respond.

On May 13, Sparko’s body was found by police alongside 40 other dead dogs at Rahman’s site.

Michelle said: ‘Now I know why he [Rahman] couldn’t give Sparko back – because he was already dead.’

‘Sparko was found in a wooden hut where there were two other barely alive dogs huddled up next to his dead body.

‘There were the remains of other dogs found in black bin bags next to him.’

Michelle is now demanding a change in the law to make causing the death of a dog a criminal offence, explaining: ‘How can you go round in the UK and slaughter 41 dogs and get away with it?

‘I can’t believe how many people this has affected people, it is horrific. I just cannot believe this monster just got away with this.

‘He’s a danger to society, a danger to everybody.’

The 11 offences of fraud by false representation relate to Rahman’s rehoming contract which he was not fulfilling.

Some owners hold out hope that their dogs, whether sent to Rahman for rehoming or training, were put up for adoption. But the trail has gone cold for many, leaving them fearing the worst.

One case saw a woman send fresh, raw food every day for her dog – costing her £9 every single day.

But the dog, which had been sent to Rahman for training, was later found by police to have apparently starved to death.

One of the most startling images shared by Rahman on his Facebook before he was finally caught shows him with Marmoset monkeys, one of which is called Milo, the other’s name not known.

He first claimed to have built a ‘whole room for them to play in’ featuring a dome frame before later saying they had been ‘handed to a specialist sanctuary’.

But there is no trace of such a transfer and many fear Rahman killed the pair after taking a substantial fee from their owner.

The two Marmosets are among ‘over 180 animals’ which campaigners say remain unaccounted for.

Other animals that he posted about having included a horse, goats and even a llama – which some believe may have survived by being rehomed, though this remains confirmed.

A source told this newspaper: ‘It’s very difficult to work out what happened to all the animals he had, and you do fear the worst.

‘I saw a post that Rahman put on social media where he was joking with someone talking about barbecuing the monkeys. And in all honesty, I wouldn’t put that past him. There is no trace of these monkeys at all, I have no idea at all where they ended up.

‘He had all these people getting animals for him, he was preying on vulnerable people.’

The shed where dead dogs were found had a sign on the door which read: ‘No trespassing – we’re tired of hiding the bodies.’

One neighbour said: ‘We had our suspicions for a long time that something was wrong. There was a bad smell coming from the property and people complained to the council, they complained to the police but for a long time nothing happened.

‘Rahman never let anyone into his house. Even new adopters bringing pets were met at the gate. It was like Fort Knox, the gates would come down. Locals were frightened to speak out.

‘One gentleman approached Obi because he saw him kicking a dog and challenged him. Rahman was aggressively confrontational and played the race card when challenged.

‘That was another way to keep anyone from looking too closely at what was going on behind those gates.’

It is thought a neighbour finally prompted a police raid on Rahman after discovering the leg of a dog in their garden which still had its fur and claws, after a fox carried it there from where Rahman had hidden its body.

Owners believe Rahman began systematically murdering dogs in order to take more in and collect an increasing number of fees in the process, under the guise that he would ‘get these new kennels set up asap will have 10 more spaces’.

Carla Patrick is among dozens of owners who still have no clue what happened to their dogs.

She believes Rahman was driven entirely by greed and saw an opportunity to make a windfall through his evil kennel business.

She said: ‘I think he wanted to live a certain lifestyle. Each dog that went to him he got between £300 to £1,000. Some dogs he got £2,500 donations for. In December 2024 he took over 50 dogs into his “facility”. At £300 a go, that is a significant amount of money.

‘With Ricky, we gave him £350’.

Carla, a dog walker from South London, put a two-year-old American bulldog up for training and adoption with Save a Paw on December 5, 2024 when his owner could no longer look after him.

She explained: ‘He [Rahman] was very communicative at first then as time went by it just got worse and worse and worse.

‘Around March/April, I was asking for proof of life, I could see a pattern that there were large breed dogs that were going to this man and disappearing.

‘He would tell us all the same stories, the dog had gone off to foster, they had gone off to live on a farm, they were doing amazingly, but never proof for any of us. I don’t think Ricky made it out alive, I think he killed him.

‘We know that on the day of the raid there were bags and bags of bones and bodies they couldn’t even identify as dogs.’

Caroline Park left two dogs, Demon and Deboo, with Rahman and later found that one dog had been rehomed – even though she never agreed to this.

She said: ‘With Deebo I didn’t sign any surrender papers, we managed to track down his new owner who was told he was rescued from a pound in Liverpool. In a way it is a happy ending.

‘But Demon is feared dead. What was going through his mind? I just can’t comprehend.

‘Animal rescue needs to change big style – to be properly regulated – but until it is things like this will happen again and again and again.’

Sharon Duffy, from Nottinghamshire, gave her eight-month-old Cane-Corso cross Kingslea to a friend who later took it to Save A Paw in December 2024 without her permission.

She thinks she was lied to repeatedly by Rahman when she tried to get her dog back.

She explained: ‘Kingslea went in there on December 5, 2024 and hasn’t been seen since.

‘Rahman did say the dog’s name had been changed and he had gone to foster carers who were now adopting him’.

‘We said “could we have a photo or video” but that never happened… he said that was “against data protection”.

‘I have not stopped looking for him. It’s been a living nightmare to be honest.’

The Dogs Trust has worked alongside the RSPCA to rehome a number of the dogs, which are now thriving.