PupAid is an annual event held in London’s prestigious Primrose Hill. The brainchild of TV Vet Marc Abraham, PupAid raises awareness of puppy farming and rescue dogs.
It’s supported by a large number of celebrities including:
Liam Gallagher, Sarah Harding and Meg Matthews support Marc Abraham’s PupAid campaign. Source
Ricky Gervais supports raising awareness against puppy farming. Source
PupAid History
From his humble North London beginnings as a Veterinary Surgeon, to authoring dog care books and launching a mobile app, Marc Abraham founded PupAid in Brighton in 2010. Marc’s TV presence on high profile shows such as ITV’s This Morning has catapulted (ahem) PupAid as one of the World’s largest Puppy Farming Awareness Days, all whilst promoting responsible breeding and dog adoption.
What is Puppy Farming?
Dogs are often seen as fashion accessories, and as such, through lack of knowledge and no fault of their own, a lot of the public aren’t aware of where their pup really comes from.
In a nutshell, puppy farming is the large scale commercial breeding of puppies by people who usually put profit over dog welfare. They’re usually disused agricultural sheds (more often than not) in Wales, Ireland, and recently Eastern Europe. Puppy farms rely on the third party trade so they rarely sell directly to the public.
The Pet Animals Act 1951 Legislation allows people to buy puppies less than eight weeks old and sell them in pet shops to other members of the public. This Legislation needs changing because it means you can sell a puppy without its mum. Remember: most puppy farms are completely legal. There are some unlicensed ones, but the majority are legal.
Marc comments to us: “It’s pointless trying to ban puppy farms in terms of having a legislation that says “you can’t have a puppy farm” because most of what they’re doing is against the Animal Welfare Act, with no one policing it. The only way to stop puppy farming is to stop people buying the pups born on them.”
The awful fact with these puppy farms is that once breeding bitches are infertile, they’re usually destroyed.
Marc Abraham examines a Bichon Frise/ Westie cross from a Welsh puppy farm. Source
What can you expect at PupAid?
Free entry to the day event as well as:
- Delicious vegan food
- Live music
- Seventy trade stands selling everything doggy including luxury products
- Eleven categories of celebrity-judged fun dog shows
- Have-a-go agility course
- Parade of rescued ex-puppy farm breeding bitches
- Doggy demos by Hearing Dogs & Southern Golden Retriever Display Team
What can you do to support PupAid 2015?
There are many ways to get involved if you live around the UK and can’t visit the event:
- Email your MP. Visit the TheyWorkForYou website, type in your postcode and write to your MP
- Follow PupAid on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
- Share their posts, get involved in the conversation and use the hashtag #wheresmum
Marc Abraham at No. 10 Downing Street with the Petition. Source
If we could all do our own little bit to support this, then we can make as many people aware about the most responsible way to choose a dog as possible. Share this post with your friends on the social media links to the side of this page and help us spread the word!
Keep an eye out for our exclusive interview with Marc on the blog coming soon, we’ll see you there!