Blue Cross is pleased to see the Government plans to crackdown on the unscrupulous selling of pets.
As a charity that campaigns to protect all pets we are happy to see greater protection for all animals advertised online, including puppies, kittens, rabbits and exotic species.
We are particularly pleased to see that the Government plans to ensure that licensed dog breeders show puppies alongside their mother and require the sale to be completed in the presence of the new owner. This will hopefully go some way to stopping irresponsible sellers who dupe new owners into purchasing a puppy they haven’t seen, or exchanging a puppy in a public place.
Sadly Blue Cross rehoming centres and hospitals see many cases of sick and dying pets after the unsuspecting owners purchased them online, like Max, a six-week-old Jack Russell puppy who was dumped with an owner after she’d purchased another puppy, underage and suffering from worms and diarrhoea. The owner never saw Max’s mother or where the puppy was bred and raised as the seller brought the puppy to the owner’s house.
While there are many positives to be taken from today’s announcement, there is still a lot more that needs to be done to ensure the welfare of pets in England is protected. Above all, local authorities need sufficient resources to make sure that legislation can be effectively enforced.
This announcement gives us hope that Government are taking a big step towards ensuring higher welfare standards for all puppies bred and sold in England and the greater welfare of all species of pet in general.
