When warm and fuzzy turns cruel: the murky world of puppy farming

Legislation to outlaw large-scale commercial dog breeding is promised for the end of the year, but in the meantime thousands of dogs will be bred in foul conditions and sold to unsuspecting buyers, writes FIONOLA MEREDITH

LOOKING AT a newly bought puppy – all velvety ears, eager eyes and thumping tail – it’s hard to imagine that he was born to a worn-out, grossly over-bred mother, and that his few short weeks of life have been spent in a cramped, dark, filth-smeared pen. But that’s the reality for the thousands of animals bred solely for profit in Ireland’s so far unregulated puppy farm industry.

With Christmas approaching, unscrupulous commercial breeders are cranking up their businesses in order to have enough young animals ready to meet the seasonal demand. This is pet production, battery-cage style: some establishments contain as many as 300 breeding bitches, each having two or three litters a year, with pups sold for more than €400 each.

It’s estimated that up to 1,000 puppies a week are exported from the Republic – and the North has proved a lucrative doorstep into the UK for traffickers from the Republic. Hardly surprising, then, that Ireland has become known as the puppy farming capital of Europe.

Lack of effective legislation both north and south of the Border leaves animal welfare workers frustrated and struggling to contain, let alone control, the farms. In the Republic, legislation to regulate large-scale commercial dog breeding has been promised since 2006, and was recently delayed still further by legal difficulties.

Now at last there is movement on the issue. Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, says the legislation will be published and enacted by the end of this year: “I’m convinced it will be effective, for the first time bringing proper policing to dog-breeding establishments, and providing the necessary powers to the relevant authorities and agencies to take action.”

As far as Orla Aungier, of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) is concerned, it can’t come soon enough. “All we’ve had until now is the Protection of Animals Act of 1911, prior to the foundation of the State. We need to bring animal health and welfare into the 21st century. This new system will allow entry and inspection, which is absolutely critical. But the legislation must be enforced. We need penalties that will act as a deterrent and we need joined-up thinking. For instance, even with the new system, if pups end up being sold in a pet shop, they currently don’t have to say where the animals came from. Really, it’s all about meeting the minimum standards of care.”

It seems extraordinary that anyone would knowingly choose to buy a weak, under-fed and quite possibly diseased puppy from such a background. But as Aungier says, most farmed puppies are sold either “over the counter” in pet shops or through ads in websites or newspapers, where only a mobile number for the owner is given, so the buyer never sees the squalor of the breeding conditions.

David Wilson, from the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA), explains how the process works. “People look in the local paper, they see an ad for a Bichon Frise puppy, so they ring up and a friendly woman says that she’ll bring the pup and meet them at the roundabout at the end of the motorway, so they don’t have to travel so far. Then, if they like the puppy, they can take him there and then. The people standing holding their new puppy at the roundabout see only the cute, fluffy tip of the iceberg.”

New owners may be supplied with fake pedigree papers, or spurious certificates stating that they are now part of the (fictional) Puppy Owners Fellowship. “Or the breeder will say they’ll send the paperwork on to you in a month.

They never do, of course, and by then it’s your dog, he’s licking your face at night – you’re not going to try to send him back. Worse still, if the puppy dies, you can’t go back with the animal’s body to the breeder’s doorstep. And that’s how they get away with it.”

But while the heartless breeders are the primary culprits, campaigners insist consumer demand fuels the business. And the rise of so-called designer dogs – the kind often seen tucked under a socialite’s arm, wearing a pink diamante collar – have made things even worse. “Most people want a designer dog, they don’t want some old mutt whose tail doesn’t fit his body,” says Wilson. “And what’s more, they want it now. They want it for that special birthday party or for Christmas.”

When a plausible-sounding breeder assures a prospective buyer that they can have just the puppy they want, whatever breed or colour, straight away, for less than the normal pedigree asking price, it’s not surprising that some people jump at the opportunity.

What’s still not clear, though, is why there is apparently so little sustained concern about puppy farming amongst the general public. In May of this year, a woman pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after animal welfare officers removed 76 dogs, some of them disease-ridden and covered in faeces and urine burns, from her Co Wicklow property. The case was reported widely and there was an outcry at the time, but the furore died down quickly.

Animal welfare officials and campaigners are all too familiar with this residual indifference. Some attribute it to Ireland’s roots as an agricultural community, with breeders treating dogs as stock animals. “It’s not necessarily intended to be cruel,” says Seán Delmar, president of the Irish Kennel Club, “but some treat it as a production line, and that’s not the way you raise pets. Producing them is a totally different process. You have to socialise them, they have to learn to interact with people.”

Delmar says some establishments are worse than others. “Most are run as a sideline, from a property in the countryside, perhaps as an earner for the wife. Hobby breeding like that isn’t a problem. The problem comes when you have places with 30 or 40 breeding bitches, and the whole concept is to produce animals in the cheapest way.”

While there are no figures on the exact number of puppy farms in Ireland, officials know exactly who and where the worst offenders are. It’s an open secret. With the advent of the new legislation, the hope is that they can take at last take decisive action on this grim trade in dogs.

Golden rules: Buying a puppy

• Make sure it comes from a reputable registered local dog breeder, one willing to provide you with a veterinary certification of health.
• Always see the puppy at home with its mother.
• Do not buy from classified ads with mobile numbers only.
• Never buy from the boot of a car. A genuine breeder will not trade in that fashion and they will vet you to ensure you can provide their pup with a suitable home.
• Beware of ads that offer more than one breed: these are often placed by dealers rather than breeders.

Source: USPCA