Ban on sale of puppies in pet shops

MINISTERS will ban sales of puppies and kittens from pet shops to combat unscrupulous puppy farms following a campaign to introduce ‘Lucy’s law’.

The ban on third-party sales should help to drive up animal welfare standards, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said.

Anyone buying or adopting a pet less than six months old will have to deal directly with the breeder or rescue centre. Many puppies are currently being separated from their mothers too early, so the new law will make it illegal to sell them without their mothers present.

It follows the ‘Lucy’s law’ campaign – named after a cavalier spaniel rescued after being kept in a cage at a puppy farm.

The movement led to a petition, signed by nearly 150,000 people, to end the sale of animals being bred in a cruel environment and transported long distances.

The ban aims to reduce health problems and socialisation issues that afflict pets kept in poor conditions by unscrupulous, profit-driven breeders. Mr Gove said it will ensure pets ‘get the right start in life’.

David Bowles, of the RSPCA, welcomed the ban, adding: ‘The only people who profit from this unscrupulous trade are the sellers.’

New laws come into force on October 1 banning licensed sellers from dealing in puppies and kittens less than eight weeks old.