UK Edition
Puppy farming – a booming but horrific part of the UK economy
A vet and his assistant in Leeds were convicted last Thursday of six offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
Police discovered 22 dogs and eight cats - some of them in cages - in the basement and back room of Armley Vets in February.
Four dogs and a cat had to be put down following the raid on the vet practice. The investigating RSPCA inspector said "The dogs were found living in cages in a pitch black dungeon. It was filthy, there was faeces everywhere, and they had no access to food or water. Most of the cats were shut in one room, which was also covered with excrement.”
The pair will be sentenced next month, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons will launch its own investigation. It’s bad enough for a member of the public to be convicted of such an offence, but for a veterinary surgeon, bound by an ethical code to uphold the welfare of animals, it’s unforgivable. Back to the words of the RSPCA inspector: 'It is unthinkable to consider what was going on in this surgery as clients were coming and going, paying their vet fees.”
Sadly, the veterinary profession is no different to any other part of the human race: there will always be sinners amongst us, and the best we can do is to ensure that justice is served, preventing serious misbehaviour from happening in the future, and deterring others from making the same mistakes.
When you watch the video, one of the startling aspects is the number of Husky puppies that were discovered. This ties in with the fact that puppy farming is a big business, with high profits to be made. People still fall for the idea of a cute new puppy rather than a rescue dog, and where there’s a market, it will be exploited by the unscrupulous.
A DEFRA announcement last week revealed that imports of puppies from Ireland, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, and Romania - all countries identified as having large scale puppy farm operations - have risen by 75%. (insert graph which is to be credited to RSPCA) The RSPCA is asking members of the public to support their “ Scrap the Puppy Trade campaign” and to sign their petition.
Our government needs to be told again and again: new legislation is needed first to tackle puppy imports, and second to deal with the home-grown puppy trade in England . If nothing is done, the thriving puppy market will continue to flourish, and episodes of cruelty like this will continue to occur with depressing regularity.