Last month the Kennel Club ran its Puppy Awareness Week Campaign; their research found that one in three people may have bought from a puppy farmer and of the puppies bought online or in pet shops — outlets often used by puppy farmers — one in five ends up needing long-term veterinary treatment or dying before it is 6 months old.
I continue to see puppies needing help because they were born on a puppy farm and hear tales of distressed owners seeing their brand new puppy die because they bought them from a puppy farm, through a free newspaper ad, over the internet, or from a pet shop.
The key to ending puppy farming is to stop people buying from puppy farmers in the first place. By stopping the demand, we stop the trade, so we need to raise awareness. I always make sure everyone I come into contact with is informed about the horrors of puppy farming, and even run an annual event to help get the word across called Pup Aid. With this event and the publicity surrounding it, I am able to get the message across to the thousands of people, as well as raising money to go to rescue shelters and charities that help stop, or deal with the consequences of puppy farms.
We can all do our part to raise awareness, from engaging with our clients about where they got their puppy from, to organising similar events in our own local communities. These actions, no matter how small, will help countless dogs, not to mention greatly improve relationships with customers too.
Sadly all too often vets and vet nurses see clients' new puppies, after that impulse buy, cute fluffy birthday presents, that have become ill. All surgeries give free advice about sourcing new puppies responsibly, so by holding friendly conversations about where they got their puppy from, if indicated you can alert them to any possible health and behavioural problems to look out for, and give them vital information for any similar future decisions. They will most likely also share this with their friends and your honest discussions can build a relationship of trust between them and your practice.
There is currently very little regulation over dog breeders in the UK so the Kennel Club established the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme in 2004, which now has UKAS recognition, to ensure that its members always follow responsible steps when breeding and selling puppies. I always recommend people look at assured breeders first if they want a puppy and direct people to the Kennel Club website to find out more about individual breeds and breeders http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog-or-puppy/.
Breeders should hold a breeding licence if they breed five or more litters a year, but puppy farmers know how to get around this, or clean up when it is time for their inspection. I have created a Government e-petition to ask for more to be done http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49528, which I invite you all to sign and share; asking the Government to ban the sale of young puppies/kittens unless their mothers are present. At time of writing we've collected more than 60 000 signatures, but need 100 000 for this important matter to be discussed in Parliament.
By not informing our clients about their bad decisions, they will go on buying puppies from puppy farmers and so will their friends and families. We will continue to see sick and poorly socialised puppies in our surgeries that have been bred in horrendous conditions, with no care for their health, welfare or socialisation needs. We may also see the poor rescued ex-breeding bitches bred over and over again, damaged psychologically, their stomachs trailing the ground, who perhaps have never played with toys, walked on grass, or experienced love.
We as professionals are in a trusted position, vet nurses' views on animal health are greatly respected and repeated and listened to. Never think it is too late, by engaging with customers we can influence their decisions and also empower them to influence others. By openly talking and sharing knowledge with as many people as possible we can continue to raise awareness and finally put an end to puppy farming.