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GIlly Mendes Ferreira, head of policy and education at the Scottish SPCA.

What the veterinary profession can do about the puppy trade

Opening speaker in the BSAVA Congress session on puppy trading and illegal breeding and importation of dogs, Paula Boyden, from the Dogs Trust, suggested that there is an annual need for about 750,000 puppies to maintain the current UK dog population. "So where do they come from?" she asked.

The answer is that a significant proportion of them come from Eastern Europe, especially Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and the Ukraine – many of them smuggled or imported illegally. This problem is exacerbated by loopholes created by changes to legislation in 2012 that relaxed many of the safeguards and barriers to prevent the illegal trade.

There is a particular problem with pugs, bulldogs and French bulldogs. The illegal trade is being exacerbated by falsification of passports by veterinary surgeons and there is evidence of an increased risk of importation of zoonotic diseases, not just rabies.

"The chances of being caught are, to say the least, slim," said Paula. "The policy of 'minimal visualisation is totally inadequate, especially as much of the regulatory control is in the hands of the carriers themselves."

"It is very easy to smuggle illegal pets into the UK," she added. "It's a bit like humans passing through security at border controls with a just paper bag over their head!"

Paula concluded that there was a need to reinforce enforcement of the PET scheme and a requirement for much greater sanctions against offenders. Legislation should be revised as a matter of urgency following Brexit – the rabies (blood) test should be reintroduced and there is a need to tighten the treatment for ticks and tapeworms.

City of London inspector, Sharon Edwards, emphasised that "Veterinary surgeons have a duty to report instances when they suspect dogs presented to them have been imported illegally. They only need reasonable grounds for suspicion to request that an animal is put into quarantine and there are guidelines in the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct to reassure vets on their legal position with respect to client confidentiality and disclosure on the grounds of animal welfare."

In addition, Section 9 of the 1998 Data Protection Act permits submission of a 'confidential' information report to local authorities if vets are suspicious that the clients in front of them are somehow involved – either proactively or as innocent victims – in illegal activities. In suspicious circumstances, it is worthwhile photocopying all documents, reading microchips and recording as much information as possible gleaned from the consultation, especially about the source of the animal.

GIlly Mendes Ferreira, head of policy and education at the Scottish SPCA, reported that the maximum sentence for animal welfare crimes in Scotland is due to increase from one year to five years. There is scope for much more sharing of information about animal cruelty offenders, not only on police databases, but also across local authority and national boundaries.

The SPCA has a very active programme to make animal welfare a compulsory part of the school Curriculum of Excellence. But although children are now much more aware of the iniquities of puppy farming, there is a need to educate their parents.

GIlly cited celebrity endorsement of breeds as playing a significant role in determining the breeds that are sought from puppy farms; which was something that needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency through direct approaches and through education of the public. In this latter connection, she announced the launch, on 16 April, of the #SayNoToPuppyDealers website.

Mark Rafferty, an enforcement officer from the Scottish SPCA, highlighted the proliferation of puppy farming in Ireland that followed EU financial incentives to farmers to diversify their activities. He suggested that in some areas, drug dealers were switching their 'business activities' to illegal puppy trading. "If you want to make money in an unregulated area, then the puppy trade is the place to go," he said.

"Microchipping is not an effective deterrent any more and it won't be long before there is a serious outbreak of disease. Maybe that will be what it takes to bring people to their senses?" he added.

Mark suggested that solutions include tightening up the criteria on licensing of premises and even more help from veterinary practices. "We rely on the intervention and co-operation of veterinary surgeons. It is important that offenders are not only fined severely but also banned from owning or breeding dogs for an extended period of time," he concluded.

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