‘We’re baring all to stop puppy farming "

Every year, thousands of dogs are born into squalid conditions and we recently highlighted their horrendous plight. This week, our favourite caring celebs are backing Closer’s campaign to ban rogue farms

Closer is spearheading the campaign to raise awareness about the devastating reality of many puppy farms – where puppies are taken from their mothers and held in cramped and disease-ridden sheds before being sold for thousands of pounds.

Shockingly, around one million dogs are bred in these heartbreaking conditions every year. And, yet, it still isn’t illegal.

However, since our article two weeks ago, there has been an overwhelming response to our call for a ban on puppy farms.

RAISING AWARENESS

Marc Abraham, TV vet and founder of Pupaid – a campaign to stop puppy farming – says: “A number of concerned people have contacted me since Closer’s article was published. Most are shocked puppy farms are actually legal. So, as long as the law stays the same, people will never know they’re doing anything ethically wrong by buying their pets through pet shops or ads on websites, rather than adopting from a rescue shelter or searching for a responsible breeder where they’ll always see pups interacting with their mums in the place they were born. We need to keep raising awareness as it keeps this important conversation going, helps educate the public, and works towards the problem being solved. To stop puppy farming, we need to continue putting pressure on the government and those organisations responsible for changing the law.”

CALLOUSLY DUMPED

People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) agree something needs to be done. Mimi Bekhechi – Director of International Programmes at PETA – says: “Dogs on puppy farms are typically kept inside wire cages in filthy conditions and exploited like breeding machines. Denied proper veterinary care, puppies and their mothers routinely suffer from malnutrition, exposure, kennel cough, mange and other diseases. When their bodies are spent after years of being forced to give birth to litters of puppies, the mothers are callously dumped at shelters or killed.

“The horrific suffering they endure is a direct consequence of people’s desire for ‘designer dogs’ – with breeders churning out puppies to meet this demand. What’s more, while puppy farms churn out puppies for profit, hundreds of thousands of animals are waiting in shelters, many of whom will be euthanised simply as there aren’t enough good homes for them. Pet shops should be banned, and anyone who is willing to make the lifetime commitment of bringing a dog into their family should adopt and steer well clear of all breeders.”

❛dogs are Typically kept inside wire cages in filthy conditions❜