Illegal puppy selling increased post-pandemic, research reveals
Research shows more underage puppies being imported.
A study has revealed that, rather than returning to pre-pandemic levels, concerning puppy selling trends have increased post-pandemic.
The research from Royal Veterinary College (RVC) compared puppies bought aged under 16 weeks from private sellers between 23 March 2021- 31 December 2021 with those bought in the same date ranges in 2019 and 2020.
The results showed an increase of puppies sold with a passport beyond peak-pandemic levels, with more than one in ten puppies sold with a passport in 2021. In addition, more puppies sold with a passport were under the age of 13 weeks.
The minimum age of imported puppies is 15 weeks, so this indicates an increase of illegal importations to the UK, or use of loopholes, between 2019-2021.
The findings also revealed that buyers of puppies were less likely to view their puppy in person before purchasing, instead viewing puppies via video calls, recordings or photographs. They were also less likely to collect their puppy from the breeder’s property.
This is despite the introduction of Lucy’s Law into English legislation in 2019, which makes it illegal to sell a puppy away from the place it was born.
The research also identified a new trend, in that buyers were less likely to seek a breed or crossbreed based on them being perceived to have good health compared to 2019 or 2020 buyers. Purchase prices had also not returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, with one in four owners in 2021 paying between £2,000-£2,999 for a puppy compared to one in fifty in 2019.
These purchasing behaviours may leave owners vulnerable to purchases from illegitimate breeders and dealers, including puppies sourced from illegal importation or puppy farms.
Dr Rowena Packer, lecturer in companion animal behaviour and welfare science at the RVC, said: “Measures to improve puppy buying include continuing efforts to raise awareness and change the behaviour of prospective puppy buyers, but also legislative change, including raising the minimum age of dogs at importation, to prevent the greatest harms.”
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