Puppy Welfare Set To Improve In The UK

Hope for a Crackdown for Dogs and Puppies on Puppy Farms!!

On the 7th of February 2018, Michael Gove, a Conservative MP and assigned Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced for further evidence to support his proposed ban on third party sales, alongside other control methods, across England and Wales. This proposed ban will improve the welfare of puppies and breeding dogs across the country and will hopefully result in a crackdown on puppy farming. The ban is set to also implement the sale of kittens.

Third party puppy sales includes the sale of puppies in; pet shops, online adverts, social media, etc. These sale methods allow the sale of puppies without any breeding, health or behavioural history, or without seeing the breeding mother. This makes it much easier for ‘puppy farmers’ to sell their puppies without any trace or knowledge of who they actually are, or where the breeding location is. By placing a ban on third party puppy sales, this will ensure buyers ‘legally’ have to purchase puppies from breeders or adopt from registered dog re-homing centres.

New regulations are to hopefully come into place later this year. Under these new rules, dog breeders should legally show the mother alongside the puppies and will only be allowed to sell puppies which they have bred themselves. All breeders of puppies will require a license, and there will be a ban on selling both kittens and puppies under eight weeks of age. It will be a requirement that both breeder and new owner are present for the sale.

Many of these third party sales are puppies who have come from the puppy farming industry. On these appalling ‘farms’ the dogs are kept in shocking conditions. There are usually many breeding bitches who are restricted to baron cages and are kept in horrifically dirty conditions. The dogs are bred from a young age and are forced to have a litter each season. This usually begins at the dogs’ first heat when her body is still immature. Many dogs never see daylight, let alone human companionship. They receive no proper veterinary care and receive inadequate nutrition for a pregnant bitch. Dogs that have been recovered from puppy farms are malnourished, heavily infested with parasitic infestations, and have severe health and behavioural issues. Puppies bought from these suppliers have no history, and in general come with an array of health issues, parasitic infections and malnourishment. The puppies have never been properly socialized or habituated to the world, which usually results in behavioural issues at some point in their lives.

There have been many cases of rescued dogs from puppy farms in the UK, with some including 100’s of suffering dogs. This fight to end puppy farming has been fought with many campaigns including Lucy’s Law, a major campaign which spread across social media. This campaign was introduced after Lucy, who was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was rescued from a Welsh puppy farm in 2013. She was recovered from horrific conditions and suffered a curved spine due to lifelong crammed conditions, alongside suffering other health issues including epilepsy. After being adopted, Lucy spent three years of her life happy and sadly passed away in December 2016. Her campaign still continues in the hope to put an end to this horrific trade.

There is hope in sight for the future of Britain’s dogs and with the government now on side, and the future ban on third party sales of puppies, we hope soon that puppy farms will be eliminated. Buyers of any puppies in the meantime should try their upmost to ensure that they purchase any puppy from a breeder, and ensure they meet the mother of the pup and see the breeding facilities. There are warning signs that the seller may be supporting, or running, puppy farms and these include:

A breeder appears to have puppies available for sale often, and may even sell different breeds.
Organisations which supposedly rescues dogs, and some of these may even be charity registered, appear to have puppies frequently.
Advertisements on social media, markets, notice boards, pet shops, etc. These may be reputable breeders advertising, however they may also be adverts for puppy farms. Always visit the premises and see the breeding pair, or at least the mother.
Adverts which appear with the same names, or phone numbers, frequently.
Be aware of ‘viewing’ kennels. These may not be permanent breeding places, and may only be for the viewing of pups. This is one way puppy farmers get round the sales of suspecting people.
People who claim they are agents who sell the puppies on behalf of breeders.
Pet shop sales.
The seller/breeder asks to meet in a public place, or does not prefer collection of the pup.
Puppies being sold under eight weeks of age.
The breeder/seller withholds the information of the veterinary practice who has dealt with the dogs.
The breeder/seller provides no information on history of the parents, or health and medical history of dogs and pups.
They insist no kennel visits.
The breeder/seller asks for no information regarding the new ownership of the puppy, i.e. lifestyle, home area, experience, etc. A reputable breeder should care where their pups are going.

As the buyer, it is your responsibility to check where the puppy is coming from. It is your right to know the breeding history, the medical and health history, and also to visit the kennels and meet the mother of the pup. Ask lots of questions and assess the behaviour and health of the dogs and pups. If the dogs don’t appear in full health, or are not accustomed to people, noises or their surroundings, then this may suggest that you are in a viewing facility, or the dogs are from the puppy farming trade. If you suspect a puppy you have purchased may be from a puppy farm, or suspect possible sellers then notify police and RSPCA/SSPCA straight away.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you may enjoy some of our courses -

Dog Care course

Dog Psychology and Training course

Animal Welfare course

We also offer some great eBooks, including:

Caring for Dogs

Stay in touch - follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

[25/04/2024 14:03:55]