Illegal puppy smugglers ‘bringing heavily pregnant dogs into the UK’

Illegal puppy smugglers are bringing heavily pregnant dogs into the UK as a way to escape detection at border points, according to a leading dog welfare charity. 

Dogs Trust says the single animals are easier to hide than a litter of puppies which makes them an attractive option to smugglers.

“The puppies would be born and sold to unsuspecting buyers as if they are UK-bred,” says Adam Levy, Dogs Trust regional director.

“And what we’ve seen with quite a few mums now is that they are taken back to the breeding farms that they’ve come from, impregnated again, and brought back again.”

Alongside the pregnant dogs, Dogs Trust says hundreds of puppies arrive at UK ports, despite the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) promising to “crack down” on the trade last year.

The majority originate from puppy farms in Eastern Europe and endure horrific journeys to the UK.

Many have fake transport and medical papers which allow much younger puppies to be brought in, without proper vaccinations.

It can lead to the smuggled dogs and puppies carrying ticks, infections or fatal diseases.

Elaine Oxley, from Lancashire, was duped by an online puppy seller.

She paid £550 for a teacup Yorkshire terrier, and when she collected the dog the seller gave her vaccination and breeding paperwork, which Mrs Oxley thought was genuine.

“Everything seemed fine,” Mrs Oxley told Sky News, “the seller gave us a bag of puppy food, and a little blanket which she said had the smell of her mother on it.

“So we handed the money over, which we paid for in cash, and then we went on our way.”

But the puppy, which Mrs Oxley named Daisy, died within a week.

It turned out she had been smuggled into England from an Irish puppy farm and the seller had made ten of thousands of pounds selling sick or dying puppies.

“It was heartbreaking, Daisy was such a cuddly little dog,” Mrs Oxley continued, “and she had such a painful end.”

The UK government agreed to ban third-party puppy sales in 2018, making it a legal requirement to buy a puppy directly from a breeder or a rescue centre.

A DEFRA spokesperson told Sky News: “This abhorrent and illegal trade is cruel and unnecessary, and we are determined to put a stop to it.

“We operate one of the most rigorous pet border checking regimes in the world and we are planning to crack down further.”

But the RSPCA says the current system has not put off smugglers, who can sell a popular-breed puppy, like a daschund or French bulldog, for thousands of pounds.

“We suspect that smugglers are exploiting weaknesses in enforcement and are better than ever at escaping detection,” says David Bowles, RSPCA assistant director of external affairs.

“The RSPCA is calling for better enforcement at our ports and tougher sentences under the Animal Welfare Act.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Illegal puppy smugglers ‘bringing heavily pregnant dogs into the UK’