NOvember 2023
Buying a Puppy Safely
With Christmas approaching fast, we are expecting to see more adverts for puppies than usual. Already many puppy adverts are stating ‘ready for Christmas’. Unfortunately, this time of year people are looking to gift a puppy for Christmas that is ‘something cute and bit different’ they might say. Many puppies are bought on impulse, made easy by the click of a button. However unlike material gifts, a puppy is a living animal and cannot be returned if it doesn’t work out. Sadly, rescues are taking in far too many dogs and puppies that can ever be rehomed. They are bracing themselves yet again for the busiest time of year after Christmas when they are no longer wanted.
If you are serious about buying a dog or puppy, The RSPCA have launched its annual campaign to encourage pet buyers to consider giving a rescue dog a home. If this is not an option, we have put together some top tips to help choose your puppy safely from a breeder.
We also want to highlight some of the puppy farm prosecutions in the press recently. Puppy farms come in all guises and could be operating in your street or town, but they are most likely run by organised gangs in remote areas across the UK and Ireland.
Online Selling
As we move into the digital world, the market for selling animals online is massive. Almost all social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Selling Websites are everywhere selling dogs and puppies. In previous blogs, we have highlighted the cruel puppy trade and we urge you to spare a thought for the welfare of the breeding dogs when researching a puppy online that tends to be forgotten. Those glossy photos you see are sometimes not a true reflection on how the puppies are bred, with hundreds, even thousands of female dogs pushing out litter after litter like battery hens every year with no thought for their welfare. Some are brought into season repeatedly far too soon to maximise the profits for the sellers and dealers.
Unfortunately due to lack of regulation of the selling sites, anyone can sell puppies online with just an email address and a mobile phone. Organised gangs are very clever and pretend that the puppies are being cared for in a family environment – even bringing their children and babies to the sale to stage a loving home. However, in reality all they want to do is to sell them as quickly as possible by renting a holiday let or Airbnb.
SSPCA
Puppy Farm Prosecutions
There have been many high profile court cases over the last couple of years exposing illegal breeders and dealers. Two brothers from Ireland were caught illegally selling sick and dying puppies on a huge scale – transporting them from Belfast to Glasgow. They rented Airbnb’s further afield to sell them as fast as they could on a major online selling site. The puppies were too young to leave their mothers and had fake paperwork stating they were vaccinated and microchipped. A more recent case where two men have appeared in court just shows how easy it is to smuggle puppies from Ireland into the UK on a large scale. They used a pet transport business to smuggle puppies raised in kennels in Ireland, again with fake paperwork. Tragically, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many puppies are transported in bags and stuffed in the back of cars to hide the cruel trade. They are then delivered all over the UK to their final destination with no traceability whatsoever and very distressed from the long journey to say the least. Links to the stories and more are at the end of the blog.
How to avoid buying from a puppy farm or an illegal breeder
Do your research first if you are buying a puppy online. Check if the same contact number is on more than one advert. Try Googling the number to see if it has been used on any other puppy advertisements.
Check the description of the puppy against other advertisements as it may have been copied and pasted and used more than once.
Photos of the puppies may have been used in other adverts, and in some cases, they have been stolen from other breeders. Right-click on the photo, select 'search Google for image' and see if it’s used on other advertisements.
Check there are photos of the puppies with their mother, and they are the real mothers. You would be surprised how many dogs are shown pretending to be the mother – called a ‘stooge mum’ to hide the condition of the real mother. On the other hand, she could be stolen. Illegal breeders don’t care about the welfare of the mothers, as long as they keep having litters.
If the seller persuades you to meet somewhere with the puppy it is a red flag. As difficult as it may be, say no and report it straight away. Giving in will just make room for more illegally bred puppies.
The only way to ensure you are buying from a responsible breeder is to visit the puppy with the mother and siblings and check they are in the home where they are bred from. Visit again to double check the sale has not been staged to make it look like they are in a family environment.
Ask lots of questions – caring breeders are always happy to answer and will provide advice on the breed of dog you are looking for.
If the advert says a licensed breeder, check the license number with the council. The same goes for KC registration and veterinary documents – check there are genuine.
If you see a suspicious advert, please report it to the local authorities.
It is easy to give into temptation but unfortunately is it down to the potential buyers to help stamp out the cruel puppy trade due to the lack of regulation. Buying a poorly bred puppy could cost thousands of pounds in vet fees; have serious behavioural problems or worse still die from disease.
We will always remember the phrase written by Dogs Trust over forty years ago, that still rings true today ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’. And we are their lives.
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/puppy/sales
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-65689017.amp
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-puppy-farmers-admit-unspeakable-27700784