Help us end the abuse
Why is this still happening?
Puppy Farming is not an illegal activity!
Hard to believe that in 2021, puppy farming is not illegal providing an establishment is licenced by a local authority. It’s just one reason that puppy farming continues to flourish. The industrial scale breeding of puppies is not something that should be encouraged or supported by any government, any stakeholder, or any member of the public. Equally there is currently no upper threshold for the number of dogs permitted to be kept for breeding at any licensed establishment, providing that it adheres to breeding regulations which to be frank have to date been virtually impossible to enforce. We believe this needs to change as it has in other countries, where there are limits to the numbers of dogs permitted to be kept for breeding purposes at any commercial licensed establishment. Given that animal welfare is devolved to each country within the United Kingdom we will need to campaign hard to each devolved government for this to become a reality.
Fake Mums
One of the scams designed to fool the public is the use of a fake or ‘stooge’ mum when selling a puppy that hasn’t been bred by that person. But it isn’t really too hard to know when a mother is actually the natural mother of a puppy or a litter if you know what to look for. It’s also why it’s vital for prospective puppy buyers to see the pups at various stages of their development.
The natural mother will be attentive to her puppies, nuzzling them, sniffing them, licking them and telling them off if they do something to annoy her. Whereas a fake mother will not be interested in the pups if they’re not hers. In fact, she is likely to be very wary of them because the natural instinct of a female is to steer clear of another female’s pups in the fear that she might return at any minute to defend her litter and may attack her.
How to identify a fake mum
How some breeders are abusing the system
Importation
The UK currently allows the importation of puppies for sale from the EU, as long as they are old enough to have had their rabies injection at 12 weeks. They then need to wait a further 21 days before being imported. Many European puppy farms with appalling animal welfare records take the puppies away from their mothers far too young and the vaccine process is started sooner than it should be. Puppies taken from their mothers before they are fully weaned, have under-developed immune systems so aren’t able to fight infection. Nor are they robust enough to endure long distance travel. Now that the UK has left the European Union (Brexit) there is no excuse for the age limit of puppies to be raised to 6 months before being allowed to be imported into the UK. At six months, the puppies will have had their full course of Rabies vaccinations and their adult teeth will have appeared which makes it possible for Port Authorities to more accurately judge the age of any puppies coming in – something that at present is nearly impossible. The UK Government is currently considering new legislation, which is supported by all charities and veterinary bodies and it is hoped that during 2021 this requirement will become law.
False Paperwork
In addition to fake vaccination documents, organised crime gangs are known to provide false importation documents, passports, and veterinary reports. What hasn’t helped is that the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) rules were changed in 2012.
Before this change in the rules surrounding pet passports, it meant that puppies travelling to the UK had to be 10 months old. Since then, puppies have only had to be 15 weeks of age! It is now hoped that this age will be increased to 6 months following a huge campaign to ban the sale of young puppies being imported into the UK which is supported by every major welfare organisation and veterinary body as well.
With an increase to 6 months, it will also make it possible for Port Authorities to more accurately age a puppy coming into the UK because the one thing that can’t be falsified is the secondary dentition (adult teeth) which will be through by then.
The Internet
The internet is unregulated, and the online advertising of live animals is unregulated. The body that is responsible for monitoring and advising on standards of classified advertising is called PAAG (The Pet Advertising Advisory Group). PAAG has existed for 20 years and the group consists of all the major stakeholders but has to date only managed to provide voluntary guidelines for online sites to sign up to if they so choose. Given the large number of sites advertising puppies for sale continues to increase and the fact that to date only a relatively small number of sites have signed up to this voluntary guidance, we feel that it is incumbent on PAAG to be more proactive as their current actions have not made a major impact on the way puppies are sold. Why? Questions need to be asked of PAAG and we intend to ask those questions. Equally concerning is the continual emergence of mobile apps selling puppies and other animals. This issue must also urgently be addressed by PAAG, the CFSG (Canine Feline Sector Group) and the government.
It is however important to note that classifieds are not ‘selling’ sites. They are ‘advertising sites’, just as in the days before the internet, people advertised puppies in newspaper classifieds and put cards up in local shops. The actual transaction does not take place on the classified site and all checking of accurate information remains incumbent on the puppy buyer to ensure that the information the seller is providing is accurate. A simple Google search of the phone number and/or name the seller provides can be all it takes sometimes to find out that they are selling multiple litters or have bad reviews. Breeder websites are now also a very murky area and can provide a veneer of respectability and appear to be genuine. But again, it’s important to check reviews of these sites as there are many scammers who have set up their own websites to look like they are breeders when in fact they are importing puppies and selling them on. If any advertisement - whether advertised on a classified or ‘breeder’ website - offers home delivery, this should be avoided at all cost. This is not a ‘service’ for your convenience, it is to ensure that you don’t see where the puppy has come from. After sharing our story, we have been contacted by so many people experiencing the same problems with sellers found online for over a decade.
Vaccinations
When a puppy is born, he or she is protected by the mother’s antibodies to viruses while they are still suckling.
Once this process stops as the puppies are fully weaned, puppies need to be vaccinated at exactly the right time to protect them from life threatening diseases and also prevent them from passing these on to other dogs.
Core vaccinations include Canine Parvovirus, Canine Distemper, and Infectious Canine Hepatitis. Depending on risk assessment and where you live, a puppy may also require non-core vaccinations such as Leptospirosis, Kennel Cough, and if travelling abroad, Rabies.
Puppy farms and irresponsible breeders remove the puppies from their mothers too young for monetary gain, knowing that most will be vaccinated at the incorrect time.
They often drug the puppies during transportation to prevent vomiting and diarrhoea for sufficient time to have them pass as looking healthy to prospective puppy buyers, which is why so many pups become poorly within a day or two of being brought home. Many of these viruses cause incredibly painful deaths.
Parvovirus is one of the most distressing and common diseases seen from puppies that have originated in low welfare environments bred both within the UK and from abroad. It is highly contagious and widespread.
Unvaccinated puppies can catch parvovirus from infected dog poo or any infected dog or surface that has touched an infected dog – including but not limited to dog bowl, lead, bed or from human hands or clothing. Because it is a virus and not a bacterium, antibiotics don’t work against Parvo.
Parvovirus attacks the lining of the stomach and intestines causing severe pain and often bloody diarrhoea and vomiting.