Unethical breeders, puppy farms and smugglers targeted in Government crackdown

The government have now signalled its intentions to target puppy farming and smugglers with the main aim of reducing the number of animals living in terrible breeding conditions.

The sale of puppies and kittens by pet shops and other commercial dealers will be banned under the plans put forward for consultation by the government.

Anyone who wishes to buy or adopt a pet less than six months old will have to directly deal with the breeder or rescue centre under the newly proposed ban.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove says that the government would back a law that makes it illegal to buy or adopt a puppy from anyone other than a licensed breeder or animal re-homing centre.

"What we want to do is to try to make sure that anyone who has a pet will know that that puppy has been brought up in the right circumstances," Mr Gove told Sky News.

The new legislation comes off the back of a nine-year campaign, called Lucy's Law, led by vet Marc Abraham of the Pup Aid campaign.

He was motivated by the story of Lucy, a King Charles spaniel, rescued from a UK puppy farm, in 2013.

She'd been used for excessive breeding for five years, forced to have litter after litter, while living in awful conditions.

"Before Lucy was rescued, she would have most likely been confined to a cage or a pen," Mr Abraham told Sky News.

"Every single litter, her puppies would have been removed too early because there's an urgency to sell them before they stop being cute.”

It looks like this could not come quick enough with the RSPCA releasing the numbers per county of puppy trade from 2016-17.

These statistics show that puppy trading figures within the North East is on the increase with Country Durham and Tyne and Wear with some of the highest increase in numbers between 2016/17.

Country Durham increased from 117 cases in 2016 to 151 just last year.

Tyne and Wear has also increased quite dramatically from 36 cases in 2016 to 85 cases in 2017.

Although there are increasing numbers within these two counties within the North East Northumberland’s numbers have decreased from 36 cases in 2016 to just 33 in 2017.

The legislation if put in place will not only protect puppies but also kittens from unethical breeders but also help to protect the animals’ welfare