THE RSPCA says it is unlikely to ever recover the huge costs of prosecuting a Bournemouth puppy farmer who was fined just £100 for keeping dozens of dogs in hellish conditions.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against her from the time her Boscombe home was raided last March, Johanna Price stubbornly refused to sign over the rescued animals to the charity.

That meant its welfare officers had to wait until this week's sentencing - when 71-year-old Price was handed a lifetime ban on keeping all animals - to start the rehoming process.

She was not present for the hearing because she was too ill. She is believed to be in Christchurch Hospital after suffering a stroke.

The RSPCA has revealed that up until September, when the charity initially thought the case would be over, it had paid out nearly £150,000 for boarding the seized animals, plus more than £7,000 in veterinary bills and £822 in laboratory bills.

Since then, boarding costs have been going up at a rate of £6.65 a day for each dog, bringing the total bill so far to around £200,000.

The charity has also been unable to claw back any of the costs of the trial, which dragged on for months due to repeated adjournments.

RSPCA spokeswoman Jo Barr said: "From our point of view, the most important thing was securing a ban. This was taken to court because we had no other option.

"Ms Price was repeatedly asked to sign over the dogs, but she wouldn't do that. It's regrettable that it's taken so long to reach the stage where we can rehome the dogs, but we had to allow the legal process to go through."

She added that the case highlighted the importance of people not buying puppies from unlicensed breeders or from people advertising several different breeds for sale.

The charity has already received dozens of calls from people interested in adopting the dogs and Jo Barr urges them to be patient.

"We want to make sure we find the best homes. These dogs have spent so long in kennels that many of them will have special needs. We're asking for people to be at home all day and be committed to working through any nervous or challenging behaviour."

The RSPCA has previously called for compulsory microchipping of all dogs to help it deal with stray and abandoned pets, and other welfare issues.