Paws for thought

Talking designer dogs, puppy farms and Instagram trends…

Breeding dogs is very big business.

In recent years, the multimillionpound puppy industry has rocketed.

Thanks to recent trends on social media, we are seeing more and more first-time buyers purchasing popular puppies online.

These new owners can spend thousands of pounds adopting their four-legged friends, but are the pups really as healthy as they think?

And what actually goes on inside licensed premises?

Pomeranian puppies have recently become a social media sensation.

Their fluffy coats, adorable faces and snub noses have taken Instagram by storm. In May this year, Love

Island’s Tommy Fury gifted his Influencer girlfriend Molly Mae a Pomeranian puppy for her 21st birthday.

The puppy, known as Mr Chai, was transported to the UK from a known Russian breeder.

After just six days, Mr Chai suddenly died of underlying health problems.

Whilst his documents claimed he’d had all vaccinations and health checks, Molly Mae and Tommy Fury suspected that he hadn’t.

‘If we had our time again, we wouldn’t import a dog from Russia,’ Molly Mae admitted to viewers on her Youtube channel.

‘Maybe it’s positive that it happened to us, and now we can share this story on our platforms,’ she said, trying to see the positive.

The news sparked an outbreak of discussion with the public about puppy breeders and puppy farms.

According to the RSPCA, reports of illegal puppy farming have risen five-fold in England in the past decade.

Supporting this, research by The Kennel Club last year found that 30% of puppy buyers purchased their dogs from puppy farms.

The RSPCA describes a puppy farm as: ‘an intensive dog breeding facility that is operated under inadequate conditions that fail to meet the dogs’ behavioural, social and/ or physiological needs.’

‘Puppies from puppy farms may be sold via any avenue of sale including the internet, newspaper ads, markets, car boot sales, pet shops or sometimes at the puppy farm itself,’ said the RSPCA.

Cases of puppy farming have often involved sick or dying puppies being sold to unsuspecting members of the public for hundreds of pounds.

Criminals have capitalised on the popularity of breeds such as Pomeranians, French Bulldogs and Dachshunds.

Whilst many people associate puppy farming with countries abroad, it’s shocking how many of these dogs are born and bred close to home.

Wales is known as the puppy farming capital of the UK. According to the BBC, there are an estimated 24,000 puppies born in Wales every year – totalling more than £12 million.

In September last year, BBC Wales produced a documentary titled: Inside the UK’S Puppy

Farm Capital; investigating licensed puppy farming premises in Britain.

One owner, Danielle Foley from Swansea, described on the programme how she found a Beagle puppy – she called it

Winston – being sold on the internet by a licensed breeder in Carmarthenshire. Danielle was shown the dog in a quiet room by a seeminly reputable breeder. Away from public view at the breeder’s farm, there was a shed full of dogs and young puppies.

A 2019 inspection report showed the farm had problems with waste, record keeping and the highly infectious disease Parvovirus.

Within 24 hours of Danielle getting Winston home, he tested positive for Parvovirus at the vets, and had to be put down.

The investigation followed many similarly approved sites and found dogs suffering from infections and kept in inadequate conditions.

Highlighting the poor policing of licensed puppy farms in the UK.

Many animal welfare officers have criticised social media for the increased demand of puppies. The hashtag #Dogsofinstagram has over 194 million posts worldwide. People see their favourite celebrity or influencer online with a dog and immediately want one of their own. Bill Lambert, senior health and welfare manager at the Kennel Club told The Guardian:

‘The growth of the internet has changed the buying habits of a lot of people and illegal puppy farmers will use advertising websites and social media to hide their true identity and use a website that makes them appear both respectable and trustworthy, when the reality may be completely different to that.’

It is incredibly important that new buyers are researching their breeders and steering clear from puppy farms.

Whilst the demand for designer dogs and popular puppies is still incredibly high, there are positive movements being made in the UK.

In April this year, it became illegal in the UK to buy a new puppy from a thirdparty breeder.

Lucy’s Law means that licensed dog breeders are required to show puppies interacting with their mothers in their place of birth.

The Government has also committed to supporting tougher sentences for animal cruelty, and have pledged to end excessively long journeys for live animals.

Animal welfare minister Lord Goldsmith said: ‘We also need the public to look out for warning signs and report any suspicious activity.

‘By raising awareness of illegal sellers to the local authorities, we can all help to protect the nation’s dogs and give them the best start to life.’

Lucy’s Law spells the beginning of the end for puppy farming in the UK.

Hopefully, this will be a paws-itive step towards cracking down on untrustworthy puppy sellers.