September
Puppy farming awareness day is September 19th, so this month’s blog is awareness of what puppy farming is and the effects it can have on the dogs and the owners who buy them.
Puppy farming is not illegal in the United Kingdom, although the breeder is to be licensed and follow strict animal welfare laws. A licensed puppy breeder needs council inspections and abide by the laws that are in place.
An illegal puppy farmer breeds for profit over the welfare of the animals. During covid it is believed that 1 in 4 puppies bought came from an illegal puppy breeder.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/aug/16/coronavirus-lockdown-surge-puppy-ownership-uk
A legal puppy breeder will meet the requirements of the council and complying with the Animal welfare regulations 2018.
A legal puppy farmer is someone who has more than three breeding dogs. The council look at a range of things from the number of breeding dogs, the number of puppies on the premises and to the health and wellbeing of all the animals. A legal puppy breeder can have an inspection at any time, where they can be asked to produce records of all dogs including the puppies that have been sold. A breeding licence will expire, the licence holder must renew there licence before this happens. It is down to the local council to decide the length of the licence and the cost of the licence too. The breeders can face an unlimited fine if any of the conditions are broken and have their license revoked.
An illegal puppy farm is a place we could not imagine, the RSPCA have some shocking footage showing the cruelty and low welfare conditions these puppies and dogs are kept. Many new potential owner tend to ignore “ where is Mum”, which sadly fuels this abhorrent illegal activity.
Illegal puppy farms are controlled by unscrupulous individuals who do not care about the health and welfare of the animals they breed and sell.
https://naturewatch.org/campaigns/puppy-farming/what-is-puppy-farming/puppy-farming-and-the-law/
An illegal puppy farmer can face 6 months in prison or an unlimited fine, sadly this is not enough to stop people from illegal breeding. The conditions the dogs are bred are very poor, they are left in their own faeces with very little or no day light, kept in cages that are not big enough for them and their puppies.
The females will receive little or no veterinary care, they will be constantly used for breeding until the female can no longer be bred. The documentation for the puppies will be fake with incorrect chip and injection information to promote the sale to the unsuspecting buyer.
We have collated evidence of these breeders/sellers over the last 20 months resulting from research along with the many families that had purchased one of these puppies that have unfortunately died within days, leaving . These individuals sadly operate throughout every town within the UK including N.I.
The new owners left devastated with their wellbeing suffering along with the large veterinary cost to try to save the puppy., stating “they became part of the family as we fell in love with them the minute we set eyes on them”.
When the breeding dog and pups are of no use the dogs are dumped and left for dead. Sometimes the dogs are lucky and are found on the road side with a fighting chance although it’s not always a happy ending and many cannot be saved due to parvo. The age of the puppy being sold is vital it is with mum to gain the antibodies needed, although many illegal bred puppies are removed from mum as young as 4-5 weeks, if they cannot sell the puppies before 12 weeks they will dump them as they cannot gain the price they want along with the fact they have no antibodies and are possibly sick and or dying.
It is said that most of the puppies we are buying in the UK are bred in Ireland and shipped over to mainland UK. We have some of the biggest ports for these illegal breeders/sellers and smugglers to use.
Justice for Reggie was born to find siblings of Reggie . Reggie, was never given the chance of a healthy life due to the illegal breeding/selling/shipment to UK mainland.
The passion to change the laws around the online sale of animals runs deep in the team. We have worked tirelessly to ensure the same fate is not met by other families. (#reggieslaw) regulation online animal sales will ensure the online selling sites are regulated with Government laws, the will include thorough checks when individuals wants to advertise a pet, It will require ID of the seller, this will ensure they can be traced and held accountable, photos of mum and puppies suckling. Reggie’s law will ensure the changes needed are the changes made for the better.
As a nation of animal lover’s, along with the reality of on-line sales are here to stay, we therefore need these sites regulating as at present, there are no regulations in place to protect the animals and the new family.
The cruelty will never stop if these unscrupulous individuals have constant access to these selling platforms.
Therefore if you are thinking of buying a furry family member, PLEASE buy with your head and not your heart.
Contact Justice for Reggie and we will check out the seller for you.
DON’T FUEL ILLEGAL PUPPY FARMING
http://puppycontract.org.uk/puppy-buyer/puppy-breeding-laws