We've waited too long for pet imports reform
Ella's ears have been illegally cropped – a cruel and pointless practice.
Selling dogs and cats can be highly profitable, making them ripe for exploitation. In the UK, breeding and sale are regulated, but this isn’t the case everywhere. Some puppy and kitten dealers don’t care about the welfare of the animals they sell. They can make a fortune by shipping animals that have been bred in poor conditions overseas for sale here.
There are laws in place for dog and cat imports, but there are loopholes that these uncaring puppy and kitten dealers exploit to illegal ends, putting both humans and animals in danger. That’s why Battersea is campaigning for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill to become law as soon as possible.
The problem with PETS
The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) was designed to make it easier for people to take their pets on holiday. However, PETS is open to abuse, and profit-hungry puppy and kitten dealers are using it to smuggle animals bred in horrific conditions into the UK.
PETS sets the upper limit on the number of animals an individual can bring into the country at five, so a vehicle carrying four people could transport 20 dogs, cats or ferrets. This means high volumes of animals can be brought into the country – far higher than any normal pet owner coming back from a holiday would ever attempt. Battersea research found that 76 per cent of British dog owners had never taken a dog abroad and that, of those who had, 94 per cent only took one or two dogs.
Another problem with PETS is that it doesn’t place restrictions on bringing pregnant animals into the UK. A female dog can be inseminated in another country and kept in disease-ridden conditions, and then transported to this country right before giving birth. Puppies born in these circumstances could be at risk of all kinds of genetic and infectious diseases, meaning high vet costs and possible heartbreak for anyone who unwittingly purchases them.
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Puppies fetch the highest prices when they are a few weeks old. UK law says puppies cannot leave their mothers until they are eight weeks old, but traffickers are bringing puppies into the country when they are much younger. PETS allows for the transport of puppies and kittens as young as 15 weeks old, but it can be hard to tell whether a dog is this age or significantly younger. Battersea is particularly concerned that puppies are being imported into the UK under PETS when they are below the recommended age for a rabies vaccination (12 weeks). This presents a serious risk of disease and means that puppy and kitten trafficking is not just animal abuse but a threat to human health.
Tackling ear cropping
The problems with imports extend beyond PETS. Ear cropping is an illegal operation in which all or part of a dog’s ear is removed for purely aesthetic reasons. It is still legal to import dogs with cropped ears into the country. Research found that 60 per cent of dogs in the UK with cropped ears were reported to be from other countries, but in 35 per cent of cases, the dog’s origins were unknown. This shows how imports are fuelling the demand for cropped-eared dogs in the UK. Furthermore, legally being able to own a dog with cropped ears if it has been imported provides a smokescreen for this illegal, cruel, painful practice to continue here.
Ella the Neapolitan Mastiff arrived at Battersea after being found roaming the streets as a stray. Our staff saw that her ears had been cropped. She is just one of many dogs with an ear mutilation we see arriving at our centres. But the good news is things are looking up for Ella. She’s now being looked after in a caring foster home as she waits for a new family.
Legal loopholes mean dogs like Ella are in danger of ear cropping in the UK.
Change can’t come quickly enough
Puppy and kitten importation needs reform, but attempts like the Kept Animals Bill and last year’s Imports Bill have stalled before they could make it on the statute books, despite cross-party support.
Fortunately, there’s a new Private Members' Bill intended to crack down on puppy and kitten smuggling, the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill. It’s spearheaded by vet and MP Danny Chambers and supported by the government. After so many delays, it can’t come quickly enough.
The Bill has passed its Second Reading, and Battersea has good reason to believe that its Committee Stage is coming soon. While we’re keen for it to become law as soon as possible, after all this waiting we want to make sure that it’s as good as it can be. We’re calling for an amendment to reduce the number of dogs or cats permitted to travel across international borders to three per non-commercial vehicle, rather than five as currently proposed in the Bill. A reduction to three animals per vehicle would ensure PETS was no longer a viable option for illegal importers, without creating issues for holiday-making pet owners.
It’s been five years since the government first promised to reform imports. That’s five years in which animals have needlessly suffered from exploitative breeding practices, transportation in dirty and unsafe conditions, and mutilations that were banned in this country two decades ago. We’ve waited too long for reform – we mustn’t let it be any longer.
