RSPCA: Don’t put pounds in the puppy traffickers’ pockets this Christmas
RSPCA issues warning after complaints rise by 21%
The RSPCA is warning people not to buy sick puppies as presents this Christmas, after calls to the charity about puppy farms and puppy trafficking rose by a staggering 21% in less than a year.
The RSPCA received 2,034 calls about puppy farms and trafficking from the start of 2013 up to the end of November. This compares to 1,678 in the whole of 2012.
The shocking rise follows a number of RSPCA investigations this year into allegations of sick puppies being sold in England and Wales after being imported from across Europe. The latest arrests were made today (Weds 18 Dec) when a man and woman from Oldham were arrested on suspicion of selling sick puppies, following an arrest in the Chadderton area.
Chief inspector Ian Briggs, from the RSPCA’s special operation unit, said: “The number of calls we’ve received this year about puppy farms and puppy trafficking is truly shocking.
“We have investigated claims of puppies being bred or kept in poor conditions, before being sold to generate huge profit, for many years.
“However, the percentage rise in the calls we received since January is extremely worrying. People are making thousands of pounds off the back of breeding and importing sick puppies. There are no two ways about it – it is organised animal crime.
“While people keep buying puppies from these people, they will keep selling them. Make sure you don’t put your pounds in the puppy traffickers’ pockets this Christmas.”
Chief inspector Briggs said there are serious concerns about the origin of many puppies being sold via the internet and classified adverts. Some also suffer behavioural problems as a result of being kept in unsuitable conditions, with little or no human interaction.
“Many are sold with false vaccination certificates, and many probably won’t even have had the most basic inoculations. We often hear about puppies that become very sick, and some which have died, days after arriving in their new homes.
“Puppies are cute and it can be tempting to make a quick decision to buy one as a gift for a loved one or a family member.
“However, while someone might think they’re buying the perfect present when they pay for a puppy, the recipient might not be so grateful if they’re sat in a vet’s waiting room on Christmas Day with a critically ill dog,” he added.
The highest number of calls this year to the RSPCA about puppy farms are related to Greater Manchester, where there is already a whopping 90% increase compared to last year. A total of 217 calls related to Greater Manchester were received by the end of November, compared to 114 in the whole of last year.
The figures follow recent investigations into puppy trafficking and farming in the Greater Manchester area. As well as the two arrested in Oldham today, five people were arrested and questioned and 80 dogs and puppies seized last month about allegations of sick puppies with false paperwork being imported, following two separate investigations in Oldham and Prestwich. The investigation has been led by the RSPCA’s special operations unit
Earlier this year two men from Bury were given suspended jail sentences and banned from keeping, owning and transporting dogs for 10 years after an RSPCA investigation into the puppy farm where they kept 137 dogs. Three puppies were found to be suffering from the contagious and sometimes fatal Parvovirus. One of the puppies later died from the virus.
The top ten regions with the highest number of puppy farm calls received by the RSPCA are:
1. Greater Manchester (217)
2. Greater London (134)
3. Essex (87)
4. West Midlands (84)
5. Durham (71)
6. Kent (67)
=7. Cheshire (64)
=7. Lincolnshire (64)
9. West Yorkshire (62)
10. Hampshire (57)
People who wish to report the sale of sick puppies to the RSPCA can call 0300 1234 999.
The RSPCA and Animal Welfare Foundation last year launched the Puppy Contract and Puppy Information Pack, which was created to give buyers the best chance of getting a fit, healthy happy and well socialised pet.
The Puppy Contract was also designed to give good breeders the chance to demonstrate the care and attention that have devoted to their puppies’ breeding and upbringing. For more information visit www.puppycontract.org.uk
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Notes to editors
For more information, photographs and county-by-county figures, contact the RSPCA press office on 0300 123 0244 or email press@rspca.org.uk
Total number of calls received by RSPCA that are related to puppy farms in England and Wales:
2013 (up to 30 November) = 2,034
2012 = 1,678
2011 = 1,727
2010 = 1,453
2009 = 1,479
2008 = 1,144
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