Brits at risk of catching fatal diseases by importing pets from overseas puppy farms
EXCLUSIVE: MPs urged to raise the minimum age of puppies imported to six months - in line with the Mirror's campaign backed by stars including Simon Cowell and Ricky Gervais
Brits and their pets are at risk of rabies and other fatal diseases because of unscrupulous puppy dealers legally importing young pups from cruel overseas puppy farms.
Cross-party MPs and Minister Zac Goldsmith will hear the shock claims on Tuesday, as they are told how just by raising the minimum age of puppy imports to six months will help prevent these diseases taking hold in the UK.
The call to raise the age of imports is the core aim of our Ban Puppy Imports campaign and is backed by stars including Simon Cowell, Olly Murs, Ricky Gervais and Ellie Goulding.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Commons Select Committee will today scrutinize evidence, including from TV vet Marc Abraham, who is spearheading the campaign, which won’t affect imported rescue pups.
In written evidence to MPs he says puppies being bred aboard are only being vaccinated “once if at all” against rabies, “giving rise to huge, potentially fatal health risks to humans, dogs, and other animals in the destination country of the UK.”
He says there are also a “significant number of other serious and potentially fatal diseases too, such as Brucellosis, Leishmaniasis, Distemper, as well as tick-borne diseases Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, and the tapeworm-transmitted Echinococcus (also fatal to humans), that are also not just capable of infecting our pet dog population, but also pose serious, life-threatening risks to our human health as well.”
By increasing the age of imported pups to six months, this will allow essential blood tests to take place to confirm diseases aren’t present, as well as exceed the maximum incubation period for rabies infection.
Importantly, our Ban Puppy Imports campaign would also make laws much easier to enforce because a six month old puppy’s permanent (secondary) teeth would be clearly identifiable at Brexit visual border checks from January 1st, and impossible to forge, unlike documents, passports, and other paperwork.
Furthermore, older puppies would be much more robust to withstand these long journeys, and therefore make much healthier, longer-lasting pets when they arrive in the UK.
The call to increase the age to six months is supported by Dogs Trust and British Veterinary Association too, whose evidence is also being heard today.
So far around 130,000 animal-lovers have signed a petition calling on the Government to clamp down on the trade of puppies being legally imported after the tragic death of Love Island couple Molly Mae and Tommy Fury’s Pomeranian pup ‘Mr Chai’, just six days after being legally imported from Russia via a UK-based puppy agent.
Started by concerned dog-lover Lucy Parkinson, from Preston, Lancs, this hugely popular petition also has support from Katie Piper, Dermot O'Leary, Coleen Nolan, Sherrie Hewson and Bill Bailey.
Speaking last week to the Mirror, pop star Olly Murs urged fans: "Do not support the horrific importation of puppies from abroad."
The Voice coach spoke out after he and girlfriend Amelia Tank, 27, became dog owners in July, making sure they got puppy Missy, a Japanese Shiba Inu, physically seen interacting with its mum from a reputable breeder in the UK, in line with Government advice and new legislation called Lucy’s Law, the successful campaign which the Mirror also proudly backed.
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