November 2024
Beware of the Dog Dealers
Every year animal rescue charities are bracing themselves for yet another intake of unwanted dogs and puppies. Sometimes weeks, if not days into the New Year, the number of animals abandoned after Christmas is high, with more than 30% of dogs in the UK abandoned during the first three months of the year. In the run up to Christmas, impulse buying when looking for a puppy on the Meta platforms and online is one of the reasons why, putting the health and welfare of pets at risk. Poor and irresponsible breeding results in illness, suffering and even death.
Buying any pet for Christmas is not advised by all the welfare charities. Unscrupulous breeders and dealers want to make a quick buck during the Christmas season using selling platforms and Meta - responsible for WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook to advertise.
RSPCA 2024
‘Deep Dive’
Many of you following our Facebook posts will see that over a 6 week period, we are completing a ‘Deep Dive’ each day across the selling platforms, WhatsApp, Instagram & Facebook and subsequently share our findings. It is truly shocking what we see advertised and so difficult to track down the sellers as they often change their names and phone numbers. Take WhatsApp for example. We reviewed two dog-selling groups on WhatsApp, both having several hundred members in each group. To date we are only 16 days in and we are already feeling rage and frustration with what we see. Dogs and puppies are being raffled off, sold cheaply as a job lot in cages and dogs sold on each time they have a litter of pups – sometimes on their fourth or fifth ‘home’. There are pregnant dogs for sale, fake documentation shown, stating KC registered when they are not, pups bought then up for sale again after a few days, female dogs looking overbred and in poor health, pregnant dogs ready to give birth and dogs sold on for fighting – already bearing the scars of unimaginable cruelty. Then there are the dealers asking for cheap litters and female dogs to breed.
A Dog is for life
Christmas is an exciting time of the year and that cute puppy dressed in tinsel against a backdrop of sparkle can look very tempting indeed. Very often this time of year we see many adverts stating ‘ready for Christmas, or ‘nice little stocking fillers’. However, impulse buying a dog or puppy for Christmas as a gift can cause regret later on - and you could be fuelling the illegal puppy trade.
Many people buy pets without considering the long-term responsibility and commitment needed. There has been a sharp rise in the number of dogs abused and neglected when no longer wanted. They are a 12 year commitment, not to be discarded when they have grown into adulthood.
Did you know that the majority of reputable breeders and rehoming centres would never ever operate during the run up to Christmas?
Anyone wanting to buy a puppy are advised to wait until the celebrations are over and to do some research into the breeder. On the other hand, think about adopting from one of the amazing rescue centres across the UK.
Rehoming dogs is very distressing for them as they can experience anxiety, fear, sadness and confusion in their new environment, especially if they have bonded with their last owners. That is why rescues always take dogs back if the relationship breaks down. Rescues have trained staff and volunteers to ensure the transition to their forever home goes smoothly. We dread to think where the pets sold across the Meta platforms will really end up.
