The internet has changed the nature of many retail sectors, and the trade in domestic pets is no exception. Yet the legislation regulating sales dates back to the 1950s, when buying a dog was often done at the local pet shop.
“That is something that definitely needs addressing,” says Sally de la Bedoyere, Chief Executive of leading animal charity Blue Cross.
“We would like to see the Pet Animals Act 1951 amended. Clearly when that was put into place the sale of pets on the internet as a problem didn’t even exist.”
As the general election approaches the Blue Cross is attempting to keep pet welfare at the forefront of political discourse and has released
a manifestosetting out their priorities for the next government.
“Really the
manifestois there to make sure that pet welfare is not left off the political agenda after the next general election.
“We are quite pleased with the progress made on pet welfare during the last parliament there are however still some quite big pet welfare issues coming up that we want to bring to MP’s attention so that they keep focussing on some of the key areas going forward after the election,” Ms de la Bedoyere says.
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Of the issues in question, overbreeding and overpopulation of all domestic pets in the UK is a key concern. As a nation of animal lovers just under half of households in the country own a domestic pet, which equates to over 20 million dogs and cats. Demand is high and consistent and the opportunity for business and individuals to profit is being seized, according to Ms de la Bedoyere.
“There are thousands and thousands being abandoned,” she says “and a lot of that is about the oversupply and overbreeding. Some of that supply is coming from puppies bred in Eastern Europe, where sadly their welfare is often compromised. They are being transported in cages in the back of vans to the UK and sold on to unsuspecting pet owners. The puppies that are coming in are too young to have effective rabies vaccines, so we have also got a real public health concern. It is clear that there is not enough enforcement around ports or around ensuring the robustness of pet passports, although the regulations exist. These problems need to be tackled as a matter of urgency”,
“Breeding laws in the UK are outdated, The Breeding of Dogs Act 1999 is not fit for purpose and needs to be strengthened to ensure it adequately protects the welfare of the puppies being bred. .Proper enforcement is also key; currently quite a lot of licences are given out too easily without due regard for the regulations, furthermore we would argue that the regulations and requirements of licences need to be tougher to ensure welfare is prioritised over profit. These issues are not only applicable to dogs. Overbreeding and overpopulation is a problem for all species which is why we would like to see breeding laws extended to include cats and other pets too.
The knock on effect of this overpopulation can be overwhelming for both the authorities and animal charities, she adds.
“It’s very disturbing actually… Our rehoming teams helped over 8,500 pets last year, and we were still only scratching the surface. We have to say no to a lot of animals. We take animals from the local authority and from dog pounds; we have taken them from all sorts of places. We get them abandoned outside our centres across the country. It is hugely upsetting.
“Sometimes we have to make tough decisions about whether they can be responsibly rehomed, because if that animal has suffered or not been socialised, not come from good breeding, has been a stray or abandoned , there can be all sorts of issues that go with that. So, that is obviously heart-breaking as we go round the centres.”
Blue Cross is working to improve this by promoting the education of pet owners, which it sees as vital for animal welfare.
“A lot of the work that we do is around education. We talked to over 65,000 children last year – we have teams of volunteers that go into the schools.
“Responsible pet ownership and pet welfare are life skills that we think should be on the national curriculum. That is something I think all animal charities would like to see but the other side is early intervention with a puppy or with a young animal, and its early socialisation, its early support and meeting their needs that makes the difference…
“That is why we are focussed on the sort of partnerships we would like to see more of between the local authorities and the police because we work with them in various areas to look at anti-social behaviour involving dogs. We work with specific groups, to actually try and address these problems and the earlier you can get involved the more quickly you can stop problems becoming issues.”
Blue Cross has also been working with other animal charities over the past few years to raise the profile of pet welfare in parliament, and has had much success.
As part of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group Blue Cross has drawn attention to the issues around online advertising of pets and hopes the next government will continue to support this important work.
Ms de la Bedoyere considers this united approach to be important in making the case to policy makers.
“I think one of the things that has been quite powerful is when the animal charities come together. PAAG is a good example Together with other charities, the police and trading standards we introduced a number of voluntary standards endorsed by DEFRA to improve pet advertising online., When we all come together collectively and we are giving the same message about the same issues, I think that becomes quite a powerful voice. “I think MPs really appreciate that; that they are not getting lots of mixed messages… Because I think they do want to help, they do want to move it on. We want to make sure that pet welfare is not being put on the back burner, that it is seen as an important issue by the next Government.”
An animal lover herself – she has two dogs and a cat - Ms De la Bedoyere is passionate about pet welfare and determined to secure action from the next government, whoever it may be.