Crufts Best in Show winner has previous animal cruelty conviction

He beat around 18,000 other competitors

At Sunday’s dog show in Birmingham, along with his Clumber spaniel, Bruin, Lee Cox beat around 18,000 other competitors to the top spot.

The champion handler was previously found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog in his care, it has since been revealed.

In September 2001, following a three-day trial at Sedgemoor Magistrates Court, Mr Cox was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog, a black cocker spaniel named Adam.

The conviction was confirmed by The Royal Kennel Club, which said it was an “isolated incident 25 years ago”.

It added that Mr Cox has had an “unblemished record in the 25 years since” and had made a “significant positive contribution to the world of dogs”.

“We can confirm that in 2001, Mr Lee Cox, winner of the Crufts 2026 Best in Show award, was involved in a court case relating to a cocker spaniel who had a chronic ear infection. The court issued a conditional discharge”, a Royal Kennel Club spokesperson said.

“Convictions involving animal welfare are always reviewed by the Royal Kennel Club and due reflection will be given to the way the courts treat such convictions.

“In this case an appropriate sanction was imposed by the disciplinary committee reflecting the court decision and did not warrant a disqualification.”

He and his business partner Roger Stone kept a spaniel with a chronically infected ear that eventually had to be surgically removed, it was reported.

When an inspector visited the Somerset-based kennel, he encountered dogs covered in dirt and a strong stench from dog waste and overflowing drains, a court was told.

The dog show has long been at the centre of controversy, as in 2024, dogs and their owners were evacuated from the show floor after an animal rights protester raced past security and attempted to unfurl a banner which said “Boycott Breeders”.

In 2018, animal rights protesters from Peta also stormed the show, as they tried to “highlight the suffering of dogs bred by humans to have grossly exaggerated features”.

Previously, concerns were also expressed by the RSPCA, over the treatment of the dogs that participate in the competition.