RSPCA backs Daily Mirror's Ban Puppy Imports campaign
EXCLUSIVE: The country's leading animal welfare charity joins stars including Simon Cowell, Ricky Gervais, Dame Olivia Newton-John, in urging the Government to take immediate action
The RSPCA is today backing our campaign to ban the legal import of young puppies from cruel overseas puppy farms.
The country's leading animal welfare charity has teamed up with the Mirror giving a massive boost to our fight in demanding an urgent change in the law to protect puppies and their mums.
They join animal-loving stars including Simon Cowell, Davina McCall, Ricky Gervais, Dame Olivia Newton-John, Shirley Ballas, Ellie Goulding, Katie Piper and Peter Egan in urging the Government to take immediate action.
The charity have also thrown their support behind a Government petition which has now collected 120,000 signatures in only its first few weeks.
RSPCA Chief Executive Chris Sherwood said he would be delighted to support the Daily Mirror's Ban Puppy Imports campaign to help end suffering.
He said: “Buying an imported puppy leaves new owners open to the risk they are supporting cruel puppy farming, with the parents kept in awful conditions and used as breeding machines, and the puppies left sick or dying - there is no real way of checking. It also means young pups travelling long distances causing stress, which is a major welfare issue. Owners who choose to buy a dog in this way are leaving themselves open to the heartbreak of losing their new pet or facing health and behavioural issues which they just didn't bargain for.
"We, in this country, are used to being able to order exactly what we want which means if the breed of puppy is not available here, buyers go abroad. We want to encourage people to take their time and wait for the right animal and also realise the benefits of rescuing a dog where great efforts are made to make sure you get the animal which is right for your family and circumstances.
“If people do choose to buy, there is always a risk of falling victim to poor breeders and unscrupulous puppy farms in this country too - which is why we always urge new owners to use the Puppy Contract.”
Lucy Parkinson, 27, of Preston, Lancs, started the petition in June after hearing about a Pomeranian pup called Mr Chai, owned by Love Island stars Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury, that tragically died just days after being legally imported from Russia.
The hugely popular petition calls for a ban on the "immoral" and “unethical” but completely legal route of young pups from abroad.
We are calling to raise the import age to around six months, when the pups’ permanent teeth are all visible. Border staff could then easily spot those that are too young making puppy import laws both enforceable and effective. This older minimum age coupled with effective rabies vaccination and blood testing would also ensure there was minimal risk of bringing this potentially lethal disease into the UK which can kill dogs as well as humans. Six-month-old pups would also be less attractive to buyers who usually desire much younger, cuter ones.
Lucy today praised the RSPCA for throwing their weight behind the petition and our campaign.
She said: “I'm so happy the RSPCA have recognised the Ban Puppy Imports campaign and want to join in putting a stop to this cruel trade. It's absolutely incredible to gain the support of one of the biggest animal charities.”
The move comes as commercial import licences given to foreign breeders by our Government in June, July, and August soared from 5,000 to 12,000 over the same period last year.
Currently up to 150 dogs can be legally imported to the UK without their mum on one licence, and are coming from breeders in countries such as Russian and Romania, born into conditions unable to be inspected by UK animal welfare officers.
A Mirror investigation in June also told how some cruel and irresponsible breeders were also transporting ill, too young dogs using couriers via UK agents. Many pups were left exhausted by journeys of up to 1500miles over several days, and even had to be completely shaved on arrival, as they were often covered in their own and other puppies’ urine and faeces. A whistleblower told us how the dogs had to be "cleaned up" in the UK before being handed over to unsuspecting owners.
We were also told how puppies are sourced from across Russia for as little as £300 with paperwork at best unreliable and often faked, and then sold to UK buyers for over £5000 - sometimes more - most likely fuelled by the increased demand for pandemic puppies over lockdown. Popular social media platform Instagram is commonly used as a respectable front to lure customers in, with pictures of pups which often don't even exist - or in some cases have already died.
The Government currently advises buyers to physically "see puppies interacting with their mothers in their place of birth", one of the major and most important protections given by the ban on third-party puppy sellers in England called Lucy’s Law, which The Mirror also backed.
But this excellent advice is clearly impossible to achieve when pups are legally imported and sold without their mums.
The Mirror’s #BanPuppyImports campaign believes puppies should only be sourced direct from a responsible breeder, or better still adopted from a reputable rescue shelter.
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