A SWEDISH dog breeder who sold a puppy to a Bradford couple who were later convicted of animal cruelty believes the pair should have received longer prison sentences.

Margaret and Gary Mazan were jailed last week - and given lifetime bans from keeping or owning any animal - for what magistrates described as the "most heinous act of animal cruelty" they had seen.

The pair had 14 Red Setters seized from their home in Swain House Road, Swain House, in January last year after they were found being kept in the "worst conditions ever seen" by an RSPCA inspector.

The dogs' mother - a pedigree dog named Alva - had been sold to the Mazans by Lena Argard when it was a six-month-old puppy.

Lena, who breeds Irish Red Setters at Applegrove kennels in Uppsala, Sweden, said: "I think maybe the time in jail should have been longer, but I think that the real punishment, at least for Margaret, is to not be able to keep any dogs ever again.

"Even if, with the facts in hand, it might look otherwise, I am convinced she did love her dogs very much.

"I think that the reason the situation ended up as it did was partly due to some unfortunate circumstances, but mostly due to some devastatingly wrong decisions along the way and an unwillingness, and perhaps inability, to see the reality as it really was.

"I am not saying this as a defence for them, but it is an explanation."

She added: "I am pleased they will be banned from keeping any animals in the future."

Lena put Alva up for sale in November 2010 and was contacted by Margaret Mazan.

"Due to the import regulations to the UK at that time, Alva would not be able to enter the UK until about August 2011, but Margaret came to visit us in Sweden to see the bitch during the spring and everything seemed okay," said Lena.

"In August she came back by car, together with her husband and youngest daughter, to take the dog home. However, we should have suspected some problems because they were not able to pay for her in full, which was our agreement, blaming problems with the husband's employer.

"After a lot of discussion we still decided that they could take the dog back with them since they had made such a long trip. In retrospect, wrong decision of course, but we had no reason to believe they did not treat their dogs properly, and we did get the full payment eventually."

Lena next saw Margaret and Alva when she visited the UK in the summer of 2012. She said: "Alva looked lovely and in a super condition, so I still had no worries about that she was not looked after."

Towards the end of 2012, after Alva had had the litter of 14 puppies, Lena started to hear rumours about conditions at the Mazans' home. In January 2013, Lena visited Margaret.

"Conditions were really unacceptable," said Lena. "Alva's puppies were living in very bad conditions. Alva herself was not too bad, but in general the situation was intolerable."

Lena contacted the RSPCA and inspectors visited in February 2013.

"I know that the dogs are safe," she said. "But I am devastated that my lovely bitch, with lots of potential both for showing and breeding, and her offspring will mostly likely be spayed and therefore lost for the breed due to these people's unacceptable behaviour."

The Mazans have lodged an appeal against their sentences. A date for a hearing has yet to be set.