Puppywatch News

Xmas puppies - letter

December is the busiest time of the year for puppy traders.  They care little for the welfare of the dogs they trade at this unsuitable time, the puppies are their cash crop.  If people didn’t buy puppies there wouldn’t be a trade in tiny lives, this crue trade is totally consumer led.

We need to do all we can to inform the public and try to persuade them not to buy a puppy from an unsuitable source, especially at this time of year.

The letter below can be copied and sent to newspapers in your area and will help to remind people that this is not the time to buy an animal as a present.

Please don’t give a puppy

The Temptation to give or buy a cute puppy or kitty as a Christmas present may be strong, but we would ask your readers to please consider that the festive season, a busy time of year, is a totally unsuitable period in which to introduce any animal, especially a young puppy or kitten, into a new household.

Please also consider that what may seem a novel gift – a tiny fluffy bundle – is time consuming and hard work, and worse, may not be wanted.  Within weeks a new puppy or kitten could become another statistic in the tragic growth of bewildered, unloved and abandoned pets.

The purchase of a new puppy is never a decision to be taken lightly or on impulse, but if you have set your heart on owning a dog and would prefer a pedigree breed, look before you leap and avoid making an expensive mistake to impulse buy from an unsuitable source.

e that fits your lifestyle. Your vet or the RSPCA will be able to give you further advice or PUPPYWATCH can be contacted at the following address:

PO Box 23

Neath SA11 1QP or by email(see contacts)

Assembly Backs Grants to Breeders

Welsh Assembly Backs Grants for Puppy Farms

The Welsh Assembly has chosen to turn a blind eye to the cruelty inherent in the puppy trade.  Through the Farming Connect service, it is offering support to dog breeding activities by way of a ‘Farm Enterprise Grant’ for diversification, a service open to anyone who has a ‘holding’ number and who spends 550 hours per annum on an agricultural enterprise.   Twenty years ago a similar proposal was put forward when milk quotas forced a drop in prices realised for milk.

The introduction of a scheme of this kind, to encourage the commercial breeding of dogs, appears to highlight how unaware and ill informed the assembly are to animal welfare concerns.  It is an appalling act of betrayal to thousands of dogs kept in inhumane conditions throughout rural Wales, where some breeders disregard their most basic needs.

Lack of Meaningful Inspections

Breeding premises are inspected once a year by Council Inspectors and are given notice before they arrive.  The purpose of the inspection is to ensure that welfare standards are being met and licensing conditions adhered to.  The notice some authorities give to breeders ensures that kennels have plenty of time to present an acceptable level of complicance.  We know from speaking to breeders that inspections can be a mockery.  Many dogs are moved to other buildings, floors cleaned, bedding renewed and bowls cleaned and filled prior to inspection. 

Encouraging commercial dog breeding in Wales is a shameful betrayal of thousands of dogs and reflects badly on good breeders and a wonderful country.  The Welsh Assesbly should withdraw support immediately!

Welcome

Welcome to Puppywatch News.  Within the next couple of weeks we will be able to keep you regularly updated with up to date news about puppy farming and the commercial pet trade.  Please send in any newsworthy stories or recent experiences you have had when buying a puppy or visiting a puppy farm\outlet.

It's Christmas time...

At this time of year we cannot do enough to remind everyone of the dangers of buying a puppy on impulse, or buying from the wrong person. If you have planned to get a dog for some time, here are some important buying tips:

1. Puppies, especially pedigree puppies, can be in great demand. A good breeder may well have a long waiting list for puppies. If you can buy a dog easily from someone with a large or ready supply, be VERY suspicious. Only puppy farms can make dogs available quickly, in different breeds, and in numbers. They may be supplying your contact.
2. A good breeder will not release a puppy to anyone without knowing a lot about them. Expect detailed questions about your experience with dogs, and where and how your puppy will be living. If your "breeder" asks nothing about you or your circumstances, it is because he or she doesn't care - the hallmark of everything to do with the puppy farming industry.
3. Breeders of pedigree puppies tend to specialise in their favourite breed. If you are offered puppies from a selection of different breeds BEWARE. There is a strong chance of puppy farm involvement.
4. Always insist on seeing puppies with their mother. Never arrange to meet a so-called breeder away from his place of business. A responsible breeder would never arrange to meet you in a car park or similar, with a box of dogs!
5. Puppies are very cute, and once they make an appearance it is easy to overlook some very obvious things. If you can see the pup is weak or sick, or there is something wrong with where it's living or how it is being treated, DO NOT BUY. Please report any cruelty to the RSPCA and/or your local council. We would also appreciate hearing this information by phone or email at Puppywatch.
6. Please resist buying a puppy because you feel sorry for it. Although it's hard, leave it - or another will replace it very quickly. If no one bought a puppy from an irresponsible dealer, the puppy farming industry would die out very quickly.
7. The Kennel Club can give you details of recommended Accredited pedigree breeders in your area, if you are specifically looking for a pedigree dog.
8. Even better, why not adopt a puppy who needs rehoming?

Web Site Updates

Our website has received an overhaul, which includes the addition of this news page, and two new photographs in the slideshow.

If you run a website, and are committed to helping Puppywatch stamp out this cruel trade in desperate animals, please collect a link banner from the Puppywatch Help section.  Simply right-click and save your choice of  image to your own hard drive, from where it can be included easily in your own site. The link to use for the images is www.puppywatch.org.uk.

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