May 2025

Written By Lynnr Oldham

Ending Animal Cruelty Together

Last month was National Pet Month and our yearly Online Pet Sales Awareness week which ran from 10th – 16th April. This year National Pet Month celebrated responsible pet ownership and focused on the five key welfare needs of pets. All over the country, events have taken place with pet lovers sharing their experiences and vet professionals giving advice in live shows and on social media. There is a wealth of education and advice on how to find the right pet for your lifestyle and important topics were covered, especially due to the increase in first time owners who may struggle and don’t know where to go for help. The campaign may be over but their work continues and are always there whenever needed. The RSPCA has reported a rise in animal cruelty and they are also working to raise public awareness about the issue of animal cruelty and the importance of responsible pet ownership. They receive more reports of cruelty in summer than any other time of the year and have launched their RSPCA Summer Cruelty Appeal. The UK’s government has been criticised by many animal welfare organisations for not improving welfare standards and allowing continued suffering. Legislation is still lagging on puppy smuggling, online selling and other welfare issues (the topic of future blogs).

Five Welfare Needs Covered in National pet Month

Companionship and highlighting the joy of adopting rescue pets. Topics also included support for owners going through pet bereavement and the role of Pets As Therapy (PAT) who are always looking for volunteers. PAT promotes the health and wellbeing of thousands of people. Their volunteers and their pets visit schools, hospitals, care homes, hospices and prisons.

Behaviour week also focused on understanding pet behaviour, early training and supporting our pets through changes. New owners of older pets were also given support.

Diet and health – promoting healthy eating habits and affordable ways to keep our pets active, regular pet MOT’s to spot any potential health issues early on and many more tips.

The Environment - highlighting the creation of safe and enriching environments for our pets and advice on low cost ways on how to keep them happy and active.

In contrast, it has been a shocking month for dog abuse. While the government further delays any action on animal welfare measures and law enforcements, animals will continue to pay the price at the hands of abusers. Many MP’s support the regulation of online animal sales, rescue organisations & puppy imports and we urge them not to give up.

Puppy Smuggling

Illegal importation of puppies from Eastern Europe is happening right now on a massive scale. They are then sold across the four major selling sites, Instagram and WhatsApp groups. The sellers avoid detection by using fake passports and paperwork (or saying they are lost) and claiming the pups to be older than what they really are (Puppies cannot be imported under the age of six months). The problem is that sellers use many tricks to get around this by transporting heavily pregnant dogs in the very late stages of the pregnancy – then advertise as UK bred. The poor dogs endure long journeys without food or water and suffer great distress if they manage to survive. The Government has promised to crackdown and bring in tougher laws to close the loopholes, but how long will it take? Did you know that you would get a tougher sentence smuggling tobacco than you can for smuggling puppies?

Online Selling

We did a sweep of the top selling sites, which always leaves us screaming into the void! We still see puppies shown without their mums on the photos, or indeed ‘mum’ in separate photos. Remember the spaniel dog called Eddie (stolen from Google images) posing to be mum on an online advert we found and shared on our Facebook post? We can only imagine why the real mum was not shown. There is this little whippet cross pup for sale in the photo below (recently viewed on Freeads) who clearly has some very deep lacerations on its body. We will never know the full story behind this but it proves that these adverts are not thoroughly checked at the point of going live. We ask why an investigation wasn’t carried out.

Shocking Cruelty

There has been a number of deceased dogs dumped like discarded rubbish recently. One was found at the side of a West Yorkshire road. RSPCA inspectors suggested the young crossbreed sustained a life of abuse and died from its injuries.  

A Dachshund in the same week was found in a shocking condition on a grassy area near the end of a residential street in Merthyr Tydfil.  It’s not the first time this has happened in the area recently. Three dead dogs were found in red plastic bags at the bottom of a car park. They were all females around 4 years old with wood shavings on their coats and around their mouths. The plastic bags they were in was soaked in urine.

In Essex, a council is investigating the death of thirty-seven dogs found at a property claiming to be a rescue centre. The dogs were lying alongside twenty living dogs in need of veterinary treatment. We ask why rescues aren’t monitored or regulated.

Until tougher enforcement laws are introduced, we will continue to see more cases of animal cruelty. No animal deserves abuse. They are just like us: feeling pain, distress, sadness and terror. Moreover, that goes for puppy-farmed dogs both here and abroad, so don’t be fooled by those online adverts and always do your research.

“Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet” – Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

Lynnr Oldham
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April 2025