Charity and police raid '˜puppy farm' in Aberdeenshire

Nearly 90 dogs and puppies have been seized during a raid at what animal welfare officers believe could be Scotland's largest puppy farm.

A puppy such as this one - not one of those seized in the raid - can fetch high prices.

Officers from the Scottish SPCA executed a warrant at East Mains of Ardlogie farm near Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday.

Puppies which vets estimate could be around only five days old, and of various breeds, were taken to the charity’s centre in Glasgow.

A number of other animals, including rabbits and ferrets, were also seized.

A Scottish SPCA undercover inspector said Operation Delphin aimed to tackle the “horrific trade” in puppy farming.

“We can confirm that we attended a property in the Aberdeenshire area yesterday and seized 105 animals. All of the animals are currently going through an intensive veterinary screening process to assess their overall health.

“Investigations are currently on-going and no further comment can be made at this point.

“Our current priority is tackling the cruel and illegal puppy trade, which puts profit before animal welfare, under the banner of Operation Delphin. It is a multi-agency approach to tackling this horrific trade by detecting offenders, disrupting illicit trade and reducing animal suffering.

“The Society is currently running an online campaign urging the public to #SayNoToPuppyDealers and spread awareness about the health issues associated with puppies bought from Puppy Farms.”

The operation, with Police Scotland, used warrants obtained under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006 (Scotland).

The charity believes the puppies are passed off as home-bred by a dealer, before being sold to the public via the internet.

Harry Howarth, veterinary surgeon, who helped with the operation, said: “The welfare of these dogs has been compromised.

“All these environmental problems we are picking up are going to cause unnecessary risk of disease and poor health, which is going to cause pain and suffering and death to some of these dogs.

“There are all sorts of welfare rules being broken here. When you look at the puppies, they are not blooming, thriving puppies the way they should be, they look like puppy-farm puppies.”

One man, who arrived at the farm during the raid, told officers there was nothing wrong with the dogs.

The SSPCA said inquiries to establish ownership of the animals are continuing.