Don't become yet another puppy trafficking statistic

Published on Saturday 19 July 2008 11:21

IT'S a thought which will strike most people with horror, but the Scottish SPCA is warning that many would-be dog owners are unwittingly supporting an industry that subjects thousands of puppies a year to serious abuse.

"Puppy trafficking is a multi-million pound trade", says Doreen Graham of the SSPCA.

"We want people buying puppies to be aware of where their dog has come from. Too many people buy dogs without any guarantee that the source is reputable."

According to the RSPCA, about 1000 puppies are imported into the UK via Wales each week.

The SSPCA claims a substantial number also enter Scotland directly at Stranraer, to satisfy the demand of families responding to adverts on the web or in newspapers.

A large majority of these puppies will have endured many hours cramped into boxes in the boot of a car, as callous dealers transport them from farms in rural Ireland, favoured as a breeding ground due to its relatively weak animal welfare legislation.

"In one instance, we saw 48 puppies worth 350 each in the boot of a Fiat Punto in July", says Doreen.

Before they make the journey, the puppies are often reared in squalor on remote farms. Doreen continues: "I can't stress too strongly how terrible the conditions are. The immune system is put under strain because of the filfth that the pups are bred in, then the long journey to Scotland puts them under more strain. They can arrive with a range of diseases."

This is borne out by vet Mike Hall of the Braid Veterinary Hospital on Mayfield Road. "We see puppies with problems from heart murmurs to umbilical hernias, and also treatable problems like mites and fleas – conditions that reputable breeders should be addressing," he says.

"The problem is that getting a puppy is very emotional. If it gets ill, in the vast majority of cases (people] won't want to take it back to the breeder because they've fallen in love, even though basically they've been sold a faulty good and it can cost them a lot of money."

The SSPCA stresses that consumers can abate the cruelty.

You are advised not to buy from cars at outdoor events where you can't view the pup's mother.

Instead, buy from a registered breeder – ask the Kennel Club for a list – or talk to friends or your vet about trustworthy vendors.

You could also consider adopting from a reputable organisation like the SSPCA, Dogs Trust or Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, all of which give their animals health checks, inoculations and worming treatments and keep them well-fed in sanitary conditions.

If you have information about dog trafficking, contact the SSPCA on 0870 240 4832. Calls are treated confidentially and financial awards are available.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT IT . .

MIKE Hall, of Braid Veterinary Hospital, advises would-be pet owners on things to watch out for.

"Any reputable breeder should be registered with the Kennel Club and should be able to show documentary proof of this.

"They should also have registered the breeding bitch and the litter, so it's worth asking to see certificates.

"A decent breeder should have appropriate health checks done on their breeding stock to avoid propagating hereditary health problems like poor sight. Ask whether this has been done.

"A litter of puppies should have had a veterinary examination and at least a treatment for roundworms by eight weeks. Again, ask about this.

"The earliest a puppy should be taken away from its mother is at six to seven weeks; no breeder should allow you to take a puppy before this time.

"As a minimum, any breeder should be able to show you the puppy's mother.

"Her condition should indicate how well the dogs have been looked after and how healthy they are likely to be."

A LENGTHY CAT NAP

GERMAN cat Janosch, from Rottach-Egern, made an unexpected appearance 450 miles away in Dorsten after his owner accidentally wrapped him in a parcel box.

The feline had crawled into the box for a nap but failed to inform his owner, Gitti Rauch, who duly sealed him in and sent him on his way.

Two days later, he emerged unharmed when relatives opened the parcel.

Gitti said: "Janosch usually goes off on his own for a few days and I wasn't worried when I hadn't seen him for a while. Then I got a call telling me what had happened."

&#149 SIBERIAN brown bears fatally mauled a man in Mykolaev Zoo, Ukraine, after he climbed a 13ft fence in order to take better photographs, but fell into their enclosure.

Workers tried to distract the bears by throwing bottles and loaves of bread, but were unable to prevent the 27-year-old's death.

&#149 IN Alaska, a grizzly bear also made the news for savaging a teenage girl.

The girl, unnamed by authorities, was attacked while riding in an all-night mountain bike race on a trail in Far North Bicentennial Park, near Anchorage.

She underwent surgery at Providence Alaska Medical Center for extensive injuries and was expected to survive.

&#149 SNUPPY, the world's first dog cloned from adult cells, is now happily striking a pose for researchers at the Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Snuppy was cloned by somatic cell nuclear transfer, and the lab is now offering pet owners the chance to clone dogs.

&#149 A LARGE bull from the St Andrews area introduced itself to a neighbour's new swimming pool.

The pool at Kinaldy farmhouse had just been filled and the family were looking forward to their inaugural dip, but the escaped bull beat them to it.

Pool owner Jamie Stewart summoned the fire brigade and said: "The vet had to shoot it twice with a dart gun before it conked out. They then managed to get straps underneath and it was lifted out by a digger."