Animal rescue charity leads calls for Lucy’s Law in Wales
AN ANIMAL rescue charity has spoken of the heartbreaking condition of the breeding dogs and puppies left on its doorstep every week.
Members of Friends of Animal Wales have called on the Welsh Government to ban the third-party sale of puppies and kittens as part of Lucy’s Law campaign.
Founded 13 years ago, the Rhondda-based charity currently spends £8,000 a month on vet bills, and rescues and re-homes up to 400 dogs ever year. Many of these are former breeding dogs and puppies with health conditions from farms.
Eileen Jones, founder of the charity, said: “We get dogs in most weeks. Sometimes it will be one or two and then we’ll get a phone call or message and it will be six or eight. Once we received 22 dogs at one time with both ex-breeders and puppies.
“We’ve got one puppy in with eye problems which they couldn’t sell because it needs an eye operation. That can cost up to a couple of thousands pounds and all the breeding dogs need dental work.
“One ex-breeder we received this morning has mammary tumours. There’s the emotional side which is incredibly difficult but there’s the financial side of it trying to constantly raise money to give these animals a decent quality of life.”
On August 22, animal charities gathered in Downing Street to celebrate the victory of the Lucy’s Law campaign inspired by cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy Lucy.
Lucy was rescued from a puppy farm in 2013 and suffered problems including fused hips and a curved spine from being kept in a cramped cage, malnourishment, chronic dry eye and epilepsy.
A statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the ban, which would only be introduced in England, would mean that anyone wanting to buy or adopt a puppy or kitten must either deal directly with the breeder, or with an animal rehoming centre.
Ms Jones, 65, said: “South west Wales is absolutely prolific in terms of its concentration of puppy farms. It has the highest number of licensed breeders in the whole UK but also the highest concentration of unlicensed breeders.
“I call it Wales’ dirty little secret. People often don’t realise, people in England don’t have any idea their puppies have come from Wales. It’s a blight on our country and shameful. Now England have announced their consultation Wales needs to get their act together.”
She added: “With these farms there is no responsibilty and no comebacks. The puppies are often non-traceable as the dealers come from England and travel around the farms, most of which are unlicensed. They’re usually not vaccinated at all and sold online. There’s very little control over it.”
Friends of Animals Wales visited met with Michael Gove to talk about the law – marking the first time rescue dogs had visited 10 Downing Street.
Ms Jones said: “It was absolutely amazing, we went with rescue dogs from these awful sites to Downing Street to share the ground with so many famous politicians.
“The staff were brilliant, they were so excited as these were the first dogs apart from service dogs to go there.”
Friends of Animals is now encouraging people to write to their local AM to voice their support for Lucy’s Law. Advocates of the campaign include Mid and West Wales AM Eluned Morgan and Cynon Valley AM Vikki Howells.
Lesley Griffiths, cabinet secretary responsible for animal welfare, said officials are investigating bringing in a ban on third party puppy sales and their report is due later this summer.