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Posted: 7th December 2023

BVA and BSAVA call for tighter dog breeding laws
The campaign aims to prevent unregulated clinics from performing medical procedures without veterinary knowledge.
The joint position urges that unregulated breeding services are licensed.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) have joined forces to ask the Government to control irresponsible dog breeding.

The veterinary associations have released a joint policy position calling on the Government to license every premise which provides canine breeding services, including fertility clinics.

Their campaign aims to prevent unregulated clinics from performing medical procedures without veterinary knowledge by ensuring all practising clinics are licensed. It also calls for legal loopholes to be examined, which may be enabling poor breeding practices to flourish.

The joint policy recommends that the Government amends animal licensing legislations so that establishments without an RCVS-registered veterinary surgeon receive mandatory inspections from trained Local Authority personnel. They ask that these Local Authorities have a strengthened enforcement capacity, improved data sharing and and a framework so existing regulations are followed.

They also recommend increased penalties for anyone who breaches the Veterinary Surgeons Act, as well as strengthened legislation on the use of stud dogs and the ownership of breeding bitches.

BVA and BSAVA’s joint policy position comes after BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey revealed that 55 per cent of veterinary surgeons in clinical practice considered irresponsible breeding to be the most pressing issue in the industry.

It also highlighted that 93 per cent were concerned about the increase in unregulated breeding services, with 30 per cent of veterinary surgeons that work with companion animals saying they were aware of these establishments running in their local area.

Investigations by the BBC have reported that existing unregulated practices are linked to organised crime. Undercover footage from BBC’s Panorama in 2022 and a BBC Three exposé in 2021 revealed unqualified and unregulated organisations illegally taking blood, promoting unlicensed use of medication and practising poor animal handling and hygiene.

Unqualified individuals were also observed performing potentially illegal acts such as entering body cavities during artificial insemination.

Carl Gorman, BSAVA president, said: “Poor breeding practices can have a detrimental effect on the health and welfare of breeding dams, stud dogs and their offspring, affecting long-term physical health and behaviour. The resulting adverse impacts are of no benefit to either the dogs involved or the prospective owners of puppies.

“Strengthening the relevant legislation, requiring those individuals involved in breeding services to be adequately trained and ensuring appropriate supervision of canine breeding activities, are essential to ensure we improve the current situation and address animal welfare concerns.”

Image © Shutterstock



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