Dogs Trust: The puppy smuggling nightmare before Christmas

It’s never a good idea to give a puppy as a gift, but Dogs Trust Harefield is urging potential puppy owners in the region not to buy puppies during the festive season as doing so is helping to fuel the illegal puppy smuggling trade. Puppy smugglers from Central and Eastern Europe continue to illegally import puppies as they look to cash in on a key period for puppy purchasing.

More than 2,000 puppies have been seized at the UK border and taken into Dogs Trust’s care as part of its Puppy Pilot scheme since it launched in 2015 – an estimated equivalent market value of over £3m2 . The scheme provides quarantine and support for puppies seized at ports until they can go to loving new homes. Seizing and rehoming these puppies helps to take money out of the pockets of the illegal importers.
Dogs Trust has also seen a 60 per cent increase in the number of pregnant dogs seized at UK borders since 2021, many in the late stages of pregnancy and with some giving birth within days of arriving in the country. The dog welfare charity expects numbers to continue to rise if urgent action is not taken.

Over 130 pregnant dogs have been seized since 2017, bearing around 600 puppies that were intended to be sold on to unsuspecting puppy buyers in the UK. In a six-week period between late September and early November, 27 pregnant dogs were seized entering the UK, their pups intended for the Christmas puppy market.

The impact on animal welfare is significant, and it’s not only health issues that affect dogs that have been imported illegally. Not only have the pregnant dogs been found in horrendous conditions, they are often very nervous due to the traumatic experiences they have endured as mere money-making machines for the importers. This in turn can affect the development of their puppies and their ability to grow into happy, healthy adult dogs.

Dogs Trust believes the increase and popularity of shopping online, with people able to search and find a puppy advertised for sale at the click of a button, combined with paltry penalties for those caught illegally importing dogs relative to the huge profits to be made, is creating a ‘perfect storm’ for the puppy smuggling trade.

Dogs Trust has, for many years, campaigned for more to be done to stop illegal imports of dogs, and is actively calling on the Government to allow the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to finally pass through the parliamentary process to tackle the trade once and for all. This Bill includes the provision of new powers enabling the Government to introduce measures via secondary legislation to tackle the abuses of the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS).

Commenting on the issue Richard Moore, Rehoming centre manager said: “It’s very easy, especially when you’re looking for a puppy, to make decisions with your heart. But this is exactly the trap smugglers want you to fall into. Unknowingly buying a smuggled puppy could have very real consequences for the owner too. The puppy might be too young to have been legally imported or have health issues that you don’t necessarily notice until too late.

“If we don’t crack down on puppy smuggling soon, our fear is that it will continue causing suffering and misery for so many dogs. We are urging the Government to progress the Kept Animals Bill through Parliament as a priority, to introduce vital protections for pets and bring an end to this barbaric trade.”

Dogs Trust has issued an open letter to the Minister for Animal Welfare, calling on the Government to tackle the worrying increase in the number of pregnant dogs being illegally imported into the country by bringing the Kept Animals Bill back to Parliament immediately. The letter has been signed by over 60 MPs supporting the charity’s campaign to tackle puppy smuggling.

For more information on puppy smuggling and how to take action visit
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/