If you didn’t catch it a couple of weeks ago on National Walking the Dog Day, TV’s Marc the Vet – Marc Abraham – appeared on a variety of radio shows to support us. If you’ve got 3 minutes to spare, have a listen to Marc and Blue Cross Veterinary Nurse Manager Tamsin Durston talk about DogBuddy here:
Marc’s known for his tireless work as Pup Aid founder, campaigning to end the cruel puppy farming industry, organising a popular annual fun dog show and collecting over 110,000 signatures forcing a three hour debate in the Main Chamber of the House of Commons.
Puppy farming
Puppy farming is often described as the large scale commercial production of puppies by unscrupulous breeders. These breeders usually put profit over welfare.
These puppy farms are often large agricultural sheds in rural Wales, Ireland, and recently Eastern Europe. Puppy farms rarely sell directly to the public, relying mainly on the third party trade i.e. selling from licensed (legal) establishments away from where they were bred (pet shops, garden centres, private dwellings, dealers).
The Pet Animals Act 1951 Legislation allows these third party sellers or ‘Pet Shop Licence’ holders to buy in puppies less than eight weeks old and either sell them on directly to the public from pet shops, or via the dealer network to other third party sellers.
Sadly, most puppy farms are licensed by local authorities. In other words: puppy farms and pet shops selling puppies is completely legal.
This outdated Legislation desperately needs changing because it means currently in the UK you can legally sell a puppy without its mum (against the Government’s own advice!)
Ex-breeding bitch saved from a puppy farm © Marc Abraham
Marc comments to us:
“Frustratingly, under current law it’s pointless trying to ‘ban’ puppy farms in terms of having legislation that says “You can’t have a puppy farm” because they’re not open to the public (no transparency) and no-one’s properly enforcing existing legislation anyway.”
“The only way to stop puppy farming is to stop people buying the pups born on them (i.e. ban third party sales), by directing them instead to responsible breeders where you’ll always see pup interacting with mum. Or, better still, visit your local rescue centre where they often have puppies needing homes too.”
Most people have heard about puppy farms, whether it be from campaigns in the media by Marc’s tireless campaigning, or exposés in newspapers and on TV programmes.
However, even with growing public awareness, puppy farming is more prevalent today than ever before.
People are still (usually unwittingly) buying puppies born on them via the third party trade, which includes both legal and illegal imports from Eastern European puppy farms.
Inside a puppy farm in Ireland. Source
Breeding bitches
On puppy farms, breeding bitches live miserable lives in squalor and are usually dumped or destroyed when infertile (not commercially desirable).
Puppy farm bitches are kept solely for the intent of breeding litters of pups on every heat – maximum two litters per year.
Often riddled with lice and swollen, painful teats, these under-socialised and exhausted little souls lead really sad lives. And just like their mum, these poorly pups are kept in cramped, dirty conditions, never play with toys, and rarely see the light of day – until they’re separated from their mum (too early) and transported across the country.
Remember: this trade is totally legal in the UK.
Marc comments:
“Breeding bitches imprisoned on legal (and illegal) puppy farms are literally bred to death.”
“Their miserable lives are full of pain and suffering from untreated medical, surgical, and behavioural issues, plus the added trauma of having litter after litter taken away from them too early. Anyone who tries to legitimise this trade, i.e. license puppy farms, puppy dealers, or pet shops to sell puppies, is saying that as long as it’s done well it’s ‘OK’.”
“We all know third party selling of pups can never be done ‘well’ on welfare grounds, so the only way forward is to ban third party sales and puppy dealing, and actually prioritise the dogs (not trade) for once.”
“Please write to your MP asking them to support a ban on third party puppy sales, follow PupAid on Twitter and Facebook, visit www.pupaid.org, and please join me at PupAid’s annual fun dog show in London on Sat 3rd September 2016.”
Ex-breeding bitch saved from a puppy farm © Marc Abraham
#adoptdontshop
People need to be aware of the alternatives to buying a puppy.
Rescue centres are full of dogs of all breeds, crossbreeds, and ages (including puppies), and you could even consider adopting an ex-breeding bitch, essentially ‘broken’ dogs.
It’s a huge commitment and ex-puppy farm breeding bitches can usually only be adopted from certain rescue centres who almost always require prospective dog owners to already own a ‘normal’ dog to help teach the rescued bitch simply ‘how to be a dog’.
Looking to adopt an ex-breeding bitch?
If you’re wondering what to expect when adopting an ex-breeding bitch, you’ll need to know that these poor pups have probably never:
- worn a collar,
- been exercised,
- been groomed,
- had any loving human contact,
- seen daylight,
- know any life outside of a barn or shed,
- been trained – toilet or otherwise.
Not to be taken lightly by any means, adopting (more like rehabilitating) an ex-breeding bitch is for only the most experienced and patient of dog owners.
Lucy the Rescue Cavalier
Lucy the Cavalier © Sharon Trueman Photography
Cavalier Lucy was used as a breeding bitch on a puppy farm until she was rescued in 2013.
On the puppy farm Lucy was hardly fed and kept in horrific dark, cramped conditions. She found her forever home with loving owner Lisa Garner.
With help from puppy farm campaigner Lisa, this lucky pup has gone on to win the Heroic Hound Award at the NEC in September 2014 for her bravery and turning her life around.
She was also crowned the RSPCA ‘Ruffs’ Winner for 2015.
Follow Lisa and her two ex-breeding bitches on her Website, Facebook and Instagram pages.
Tell us your story
Have you rescued an ex-breeding bitch? Share your story with our community in the comments section below.