Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Thank you, animal lovers everywhere
On behalf of all dogs trapped in squalid puppy farms, we say....
WE’VE done it! We’ve passed the magic 100,000 signatures needed for our Lucy’s Law petition to end puppy farming.
It’s been achieved in a matter of days thanks to the overwhelming public support for the Mirror’s campaign to ban sales of puppies by pet shops and other third party dealers, a trade which is supplied by heartless dog breeders.
And it means that the issue will be debated i n Parliament, where it has already attracted support from MPS of all parties.
Th e campaign is named after Lucy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel saved from a puppy farm who became the poster girl for the issue.
A much more recent poor creature who’s been through the mill is a tiny shivering Bichon covered in sores who’s been named Primrose.
Her picture was posted on social media this week and shows why the public was galvanised into backing the campaign.
Primrose was saved by rescue group Friends of Animals Wales, and she showed all the signs of years of suffering in a puppy farm before being dumped when no longer able to produce litters.
The group’s Eileen Jones urged on Twitter : “If Primrose has a voice I know she would ask you to please sign this petition.
“Please do it now. Let’s end this abuse.”
The petition was launched by Beverley Cuddy, editor of Dogs Today magazine, who says it will be impossible for the Environment Secretary Michael Gove to ignore.
“In less than two weeks, with no PR budget or lobbyists, the country has given Michael Gove the clearest possible message,” she said.
“They want a ban the sale of puppies by pet shops and all commercial third party dealers.”
Th e campaign has received support from numerous dog-loving celebrities.
It was repeatedly tweeted by Countdown host Rachel Riley, who even posted an online video telling of the heartache when families unwittingly buy a pet that’s come from a puppy farm and which then falls terribly ill.
“It costs a lot of money, a lot of distress, a lot of pain for the animals and we want it to stop,” she said.
There was also a great boost from Clare Balding when covering Cruft’s for Channel 4 last week.
“As all dog lovers will know it is incredibly important that puppies are allowed to stay with their mothers for as long as possible. And it’s really important, if you’re buying a dog, that you see the puppy in the litter, with its mother. In fact, the law may well be changed to try to ensure that happens,” she said.
The coverage featured B r i g h t o n v e t Ma r c Abraham, prime mover behind the campaign.
“Lucy’s Law effectively will mean everyone has to go direct to the breeder,” he told Clare.
“So Lucy’s Law ends the third party trade, which enables and encourages puppy farming because it means the breeding bitches are out of the public eye and kept behind closed doors, which is where the abuse happens.
“By banning third party sales we make the whole industry transparent, we make all the breeders accountable, we take away impulse purchases, and all of a sudden we take the biggest step forward to end puppy farming potentially the UK has ever seen.”
Among t he many celebrities using Twitter to urge the public to sign the petition is Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan who said: “Keep sharing and signing”, while Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington said: “Hope you can help out and sign this.” Vicki Michelle of ’Allo Allo! fame tweeted: “Help ban the sale of puppies in pet shops by signing this petition.”
Reality stars tweeting support include Lauren Goodger, Casey Batchelor, Lucy Watson, Rebeckah Vaughan, Pete Wicks and Bake-off winner Candice Brown.
T V personality Kate Lawler posted: “The welfare of puppies is so important. Please help them.”