Immoral trade simply has to be stopped BY

AS a vet and animal welfare advocate, I’m proud to support the #Banpuppyimports campaign, inspired by the tragic passing of Pomeranian pup Mr Chai.

Large numbers of pups bred hundreds of miles away, most likely in puppy farms, are transported and delivered straight to owners using this completely legal, but immoral, route to market.

Removed too early from their mums, these pups with compromised immune systems endure high levels of stress and disease, before legally entering the UK; often dying en route or days later. Treating pups as commodities sold for huge sums is cruel, while their poor mums suffer in breeding conditions hidden from public scrutiny and official UK inspections, resulting in zero breeder accountability.

Furthermore, importation and sale of these pups also appears to contradict the Government’s own advice to always physically “see puppies interacting with their mothers in their place of birth”, or adopt from rescue instead, as with Lucy’s Law in England.

We urgently need a change in legislation to protect the welfare of these imported pups, their mums, and unsuspecting new owners.

I urge all animal lovers to please join me in helping the #Banpuppyimports petition reach 100K signatures, get debated in Westminster and finally put an end to this cruel, unethical and sadly completely legal trade.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the Mirror for backing yet another important animal welfare campaign that will help end this legal cruelty suffered by puppies, their mums and new owners.