Comments on: Wales ‘First’ With Animal Welfare Guidance but Will it be the ‘First’ to Outlaw Puppy Farming?

By: John Lilburne

John Lilburne — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:45:27 +0000

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!

By: John Lilburne

John Lilburne — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:44:44 +0000

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.

By: Puppyalert

Puppyalert — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:23:43 +0000

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.

By: Puppyaert

Puppyaert — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:23:28 +0000

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.

By: John Lilburne

John Lilburne — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:10:42 +0000

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.

By: Puppyalert

Puppyalert — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:30:27 +0000

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.

By: John Lilburne

John Lilburne — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:14:39 +0000

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.

By: puppylove

puppylove — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:34:38 +0000

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.