Charity urges government to end ‘shocking’ illegal puppy trade

The government must take urgent action to stop under-age puppies and heavily pregnant dogs being smuggled across Europe for sale in the UK, campaigners said.

An undercover investigation by the Dogs Trust found animals were being forced to travel more than 1,000 miles across Europe in “shocking” conditions to meet the demand for fashionable breeds of dogs.

The Dogs Trust said that as the UK leaves the EU, the government should redraw the non-commercial pet travel rules, which are being exploited to smuggle puppies to the UK from central and eastern Europe.

Since the pet travel scheme, currently governed by the EU, was changed to allow puppies to enter UK at a much younger age, unscrupulous dealers are using the opportunity to make millions of pound from illegally importing them.

Puppies are being sedated in cramped conditions for more than 30-hour journeys, while pregnant dogs are being forced to travel to allow the puppies to be born in the UK, the charity’s investigation found.

The charity also claims corrupt vets are falsifying pet passports, providing fake vaccination stamps to allow puppies to travel when younger than allowed, and supplying sedatives to help smuggle them into the UK without detection.

The government should reduce the number of dogs allowed under non-commercial movement rules, and require visual checks of all dogs entering the UK, the Dogs Trust said.

The charity said there should also be a centrally accessible database logging pets’ microchip numbers and date of entry to the UK, maximum penalties for those caught illegally importing dogs should be increased, and there should be specific requirements for the welfare of dogs during transport.

Picture: PA. A photo issued by the Dogs Trust of underage chihuahua puppies at a breeding facility in Hungary.