Puppy farms, sometimes called puppy factories and puppy mills, can be found all over the world.
They mass produce popular breeds of dogs, sold online, or through some pet shops, to buyers who have no idea where they came from or the miserable lives their parents live.
Puppy farmers trade on our ignorance and emotions to sell their ‘products’. Social media and our ‘must have’ consumer culture makes it easy for them.
They mass produce popular breeds of dogs, sold online, or through some pet shops, to buyers who have no idea where they came from or the miserable lives their parents live.
Puppy farmers trade on our ignorance and emotions to sell their ‘products’. Social media and our ‘must have’ consumer culture makes it easy for them.
Some facts about puppy farming:
- Puppy farming is a thriving industry worldwide
- Puppy mills typically keep animals in cramped, crude and filthy conditions, with no socialisation or veterinary care
- Female dogs are bred over and over until they can no longer produce puppies - at which point they are auctioned off or killed.
- 80% of puppies born in England each year come from unlicensed breeders.
- Ireland has been called the ‘puppy breeding capital of Europe’. Around 3,000 breeding bitches are believed to be held in 73 puppy farms.
- Some farms are run on an industrial scale with up to 500 bitches on site.
- Wales produces 28,000 puppies a year, most for sale in the UK
- Puppies are being increasingly smuggled across borders throughout Europe
- The number of illegally-imported puppies stopped at Britain's borders has reportedly more than trebled in three years.
- Officials found 208 "illegally landed" dogs in 2014, rising to 688 last year, according to government figures.
- Puppies are reportedly the third most valuable illegally traded commodity in the EU after narcotics and arms.
- In the US there are thought to be 10,000 unlicensed puppy farms
- Puppy farms are legal.
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People are making a lot of money out of puppy farming
An investigation by BBC Scotland estimated that one puppy dealer was earning £200,000 a year (US$270,000) importing puppies from Ireland into Scotland. An investigation by the British RSPCA found some puppy dealers were earning £35,000 (US$47,000) a week. |
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Online sales fuel the trade
Gumtree, a British online trading site, recorded an almost 800% increase in the number of dogs being listed in the past 10 years (to 2016). In one year, more than 200,000 adverts for dogs were posted on Gumtree. In February 2017 alone, almost 10,000 listings were posted on the site advertising dogs and there were 286,000 searches for 'puppies for sale'. In the same month, there were 66,000 searches for French Bulldogs, which have become the most popular breed on the planet. |
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How can you avoid getting a dog from a puppy farm?
Any type or breed of dog can come from a puppy farm (purebred dogs, crossbreeds and mixed breeds), so you cannot be sure a dog has not been bred in a puppy farm based on the breed. The only way to be sure you're buying from a reputable breeding facility or breeder is to visit them, meet the mother and check out the conditions.
Go online and check out what your local animal welfare organisation advises and find out what questions you should be asking when looking for pet. This guide from the Australian RSPCA is a good start.
And here is what UK charity Puppy Love Campaigns has to say about buying a puppy
Any type or breed of dog can come from a puppy farm (purebred dogs, crossbreeds and mixed breeds), so you cannot be sure a dog has not been bred in a puppy farm based on the breed. The only way to be sure you're buying from a reputable breeding facility or breeder is to visit them, meet the mother and check out the conditions.
Go online and check out what your local animal welfare organisation advises and find out what questions you should be asking when looking for pet. This guide from the Australian RSPCA is a good start.
And here is what UK charity Puppy Love Campaigns has to say about buying a puppy