Wales ‘First’ With Animal Welfare Guidance but Will it be the ‘First’ to Outlaw Puppy Farming?
Wales, a gloriously scenic country steeped in history, a passion for animals and is apparently the dog ownership capital of the UK.
Today it has become the first country in the UK to publish guidance on the welfare of dogs in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
But Wales has also developed a reputation as being the Mecca of UK puppy farming.
It is by no means on its own, puppy farming is a national problem across the UK. But for those involved in the fight against puppy farming they will want to hear far more than self congratulations for becoming the first to publish ‘guidance’.
Puppy farming is an animal welfare scandal of international proportions. Every year dogs are callously reared in inhumane conditions to supply the demand for ‘cute’ pedigree puppies. Often buyers are unaware of what a puppy farm is and they blindly contribute to the trade in canine misery.
Even more shockingly, puppy farming is NOT illegal. Dealing in volumes of puppies that number hundreds per year, an individual puppy farmer can make their entire living wage (and more) from simply churning out puppy after puppy, year in year out.
It is down to dog owners to put an end to it and the government can play their part.
Making people aware of puppy farming and its welfare implications is critical. Delivering awareness about the horrors that many dogs have to endure as they spend their lives in an endless cycle of producing puppies without any care for their mental – and often physical – wellbeing, is something the government needs to put more money in to.
Media can play their role. Puppy farmers thrive on the oxygen of publicity. Who is giving them their platform to advertise? Who is it that gives these people a sense of ‘validity’ in the eyes of unsuspecting buyers? Many involved in the fight against puppy farming know exactly who – and what may shock you even more, many of the media outlets who have profited from adverts from puppy farmers are what you might call ‘respectable’ and established brands, brands which are – sadly – trusted by the general public. They have blood on their hands. They have profited and continue to profit at the expense of animal welfare and they perpetuate the trade.
If we are to accept that making puppy farming illegal is going to be a constant battle – we can at least work to deliver much, much more awareness to the thousands of people who are keeping this trade alive.
So whilst any animal welfare ‘guidance’ should be recognised, please let us not forget the absolute horrors of puppy farming and irresponsible dog breeding that are STILL going right under our noses. We’re some way off patting ourselves on the back quite yet.
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Welsh Canine Welfare Statement Below:
Wales is the first country in the UK to publish guidance on the welfare of dogs, cats and horses in a bid to inform people of the responsibility, time and cost involved in caring for an animal properly.
Cases of animal cruelty and abandonment continue to rise, which suggests that not all prospective pet owners have considered carefully the responsibilities associated with looking after an animal.
Recent figures from the RSPCA show that cruelty investigations rose from 105,000 in 2003 to just below 140,000 in 2007 in Wales and England. Other animal welfare charities, such as the Dogs Trust, have also seen a rise in the number of animals they must care for.
The Codes of Practice for Dogs, Cats and Equines (which includes horses and donkeys) have all-party support at the National Assembly and have been produced following extensive consultation and are welcomed by animal welfare groups. They are practical guides for people who own, or are thinking of getting a dog, cat or horse.
Launching the Codes at Greenmeadow Community Farm Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said: “There may be people who will wonder why guidance is needed on the welfare of pet animals. The sad truth is that while many people will care for their pet and provide them with a safe home for their lifetime far too many animals are subjected to cruel treatment and are abandoned. Cruelty figures continue to rise and we only have to look at reports in the media to see that this is a very real issue. Local authorities also face costs by pursuing cruelty cases through the courts, funding which could be used for other things.
“Taking on a pet is a big responsibility. There are costs involved, such as feeding and vet fees, as well as the time that is needed to look after them properly. These guides set out what is expected if someone is considering having a pet.
“Christmas is a time when some parents may feel pressurised to buy a pet for their children without perhaps realising the financial and long-term commitment of this decision. I would urge anyone thinking of having a pet to check these guides and see if they can, in all honesty, provide the care that is needed for the animal.”
Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Christianne Glossop said: “Keeping a pet is a privilege not a right, they need a great deal of care and it is the case that not everyone realises that a commitment is needed when taking on a pet. These guides aim to be a definitive explanation of what you need to consider before having a pet.”
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “The Kennel Club has been heavily involved in drafting these codes and in general, we think that these codes represent a positive step forward in this area. We congratulate the Welsh Assembly Government on being the first administration in the UK to implement these codes, and we hope this will provide owners with a greater understanding of their duty of care under the Animal Welfare Act.”
Clarrisa Baldwin OBE, chief executive of the Dogs Trust said: “Dogs Trust welcomes the implementation of the Code of Practice for dogs. Anything that can be done to improve the public’s knowledge of how dogs should be kept is very important as many welfare problems we encounter are the result of ignorance rather than deliberate neglect. Dogs Trust will be using the Codes to help advise people adopting dogs from our Centre in Bridgend to provide good care for their dogs.”
Maggie Roberts, Director of Veterinary Services at Cats Protection, said: “Cats Protection is very pleased that Wales has led the way in producing the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats. It is a positive step forward to ensure that all cats have their physical and emotional needs met.”
Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, said: “World Horse Welfare welcomes the Welsh Assembly Government’s new Code of Practice for the Welfare of Equines. The Code is a critical element of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 as it sets a baseline for meeting the needs of all horses. It provides helpful advice for existing and potential horse owners, as well as greatly assisting the authorities should problems arise. It is encouraging that Wales have taken the initiative in developing this Code, which I hope will be a valuable tool in protecting the welfare of horses.”
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We are assured this act will cover all breeding establishments in Wales. Over the next few weeks we will challenge this statement and test it out to see if its just more empty words.
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No comment from Chris Lawrence of the Dogs Trust, that is truly shocking perhaps it shows it is the KC calling the shots on this one?
Because the Kennel Club were 'heavily involved with drafting these codes', is that the reason they have not sorted out puppy farming and breed standards because they were too busy brown nosing round the Welsh Assembly?
From the list of heavyweights wheeled out, is this a KC/DT joint initiative that is leading the Welsh Assembly or has the Welsh Government actually raised this press release itself?
Due to credibility issues, the Kennel Club will promote itself shamelessly in the hope that Pedigree Dogs Exposed will be forgotten and the old order will resume where they present themselves in a Stalinist way a bit like Mr G Brown in that they are involved with everything canine related, it is a real pity they do not get their own house sorted out first!
As puppylove writes, it will be interesting to see if there will be any exemptions or will a lack of the usual funds destine this to go the way of most animal laws, no compulsion to enforce them and no money to do so.
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The Welsh Assembly members should personally hand deliver this information to the owners of the 3,364 breeding bitches that are accomodated in licensed breeding establishments in Carmarthenshire.
They could then witness first hand the low standards of animal welfare that these dogs have to endure. Most breeding from their bitches each season, selling to dealers and onto pet shops.
This is the core of the animal welfare problems in Wales, puppy farming by licensed breeders.
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Puppyalert, so what do you think the Kennel Club will do, blame the councils for issuing licenses or say that the breeders are nothing to do with the Kennel Club. If the Accreditted Breeder Scheme is anything to go by, one of their founding breeders has allegedly abandoned 100 St Bernards, see the story on this site.
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Puppyaert Reply:
December 12th, 2008 at 3:23 am
The blame can be placed at the Councils door they issue the licenses. They can according to Defra
place extra condtions on a licence providing they are expedient to the purpose of the Act. Therefore they could restrict the size that these establishments become. Take the accredited breeder with 100 St Bernards why does someone need to keep this number and breed from them? Where are
all the puppies being sold to and where are they going? A giant breed is not everyones idea of a companion dog due to cost and up keep. There is no excuse for Councils to allow this number of breeding bitches when issueing a licence.
In the case of the St Bernard KC accredited breeder, I thought the KC was supposed to inspect and I understood someone had inspected not so long ago was this the Council or the KC under their scheme?Whoever it was did not conduct a thorough search and inspect adequately the dogs. No suprise there but once more suffering has taken place because some one did not do their job properly and care enough.
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It is well known in S W Wales for Councils to allow the numbers of dogs to increase year by year this allows the breeders to increase the numbers of breeding bitches that they own, breed from and puppies they produce.
The Council do not question them regarding staff levels as does not come under the licence conditions.
This means that a man and wife team can have a 100 breeding bitches, no staff with the consequence the animals welfare suffers as result.
It is time that Defra took into account that the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (welfare) Act 1999 is failing the dogs it was supposed to protect and in time it will be seen the the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is no better. Both are failing the breeding bitches, stud dogs and puppies caught up in what is more commonly known as puppy farming and puppy trafficking by licensed breeders and dealers.
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Councils do not have to adopt the Animal Welfare Act 2006…mainly because there was no funding in it for them. I know it is wrong that the majority of UK councils did not adopt the act, but who from whatever, pubilc or private sectors will take on something that they are not getting paid to do or are not funded to do? As usual you need to look at the DEFRA advisors who probably wanted the animal welfare act to go through but did not realise that with no allocated funding councils would not adopt it.
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Part 2
I am not defending councils just pointing out the reason why it appears so many have not adopted it. DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly both need to sort their acts out, perhaps Wales will have some additional funding from elsewhere to cover the act unlike England? More money and better training for council staff is needed as well as improved legislation that would enable a breeder to be closed down on the spot by the council and the dogs taken off to a holding facility until the situation improves. Also RSPCA needs to work a bit closer with councils and include them in their plans to improve conditions at a particular location? Maybe DEFRA needs to build a series of AWA holding facilities where dogs that have been taken out of a site could be cared for…oh that's right, DEFRA leaves it to the RSPCA to sort it out instead!
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