Following on from the recent jailing of a notorious dog dealer, and his false vaccination certificating vet from Hayes, Middlesex, I am pleased to note that yesterday a puppy farmer from Llandiloes, Powys, was fined £215,000 for selling sick and dying puppies. At last the law is getting some teeth, and let us hope that 2019 may see the end of this disgraceful trade. Next, the Back Yard Breeders - at least, I hope so.
That sounds like great news. I understand about the backyard breeders too but... Would my brother, who had 2 litters from his Akita, partly so his kids could go through the experience of helping her have the pups and caring for them, fit in that category? He gave me my first Akita, and I was there when he was born, although at that time I had no intention of getting one. He never showed her but did have hips and eyes done and certified by a board of vets. He may have done other tests, but I remember those 2 for sure. He found a women who had a dog with similar lines to breed his dog with. Each litter had a different sire. He kept a male from the first litter, and I took half the second litter.. my dog and 2 of my friends got pups too.
A step In the right direction, but just wish the courts would close them down, instead of just fines/suspended sentence Ect: As for the fraudulent vet he fell well short in the morals department https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/two-disgusting-examples-dog-dealing-12344686 @ Marc BYB I guess what is acceptable differs from person to person. I see them as randomly putting dogs together, no health tests, just to get a litter or litters, for whatever reason and Lack of screening of potential owners.
On the 23rd, Animal Welfare Minister David Rutley visited Battersea, and announced that the Government are going to enact what has become known as Lucy's Law in the coming year. (I don't think he said when!). This will mean that all third party sales of dogs and cats will become illegal, and dogs will only be available directly from their breeders, or from licenced rescue organisations. There are bound to be teething problems, and attempts to find ways round this legislation but, combined with the October 2018 Act, which requires rescue organisations that charge rehoming fees, and breeders of more than three litters a year, to be licenced, this law should provide the tools to clean up abuses in the way that dogs have been being sold. Hopefully, the illegal importation of consignments of street dogs from Europe will grind to a halt too. Sad for the street dogs, but we have been lucky to have avoided importing some serious diseases into this country through this route. The October legislation also requires all breeders with sales of over £1000 to register with HMRC, which may eventually encourage some of the backyard people to think again. Of course, the law can only be of any use if it is enforced. Are we likely to see an increase in the staff needed to carry out all the inspections and investigations that will be required? Answers on the back a postage stamp! I find it sad that the majority of decent, caring hobby breeders are going to find themselves so regulated by this legislation, while the people it is actually aimed at will just move on to find another lucrative scam.
I find it all quite confusing and must admit I gave up trying to read it all, am I right in thinking that if a breeder was making over a £1000 per year, they would have to declare themselves as a business. Certain breeds are around a £1000 + per puppy, so a litter of 7/8 is therefore a lot of profit, therefore essentially they could be considered breeding for commercial gain according to these new regulations. I can’t imagine someone just breeding one litter per year would want to register as a business. As for registering as a breeder, most of the worst puppy farm/byb are already registered as breeders, most are never checked, the ones that are usually pass anyway, and am sure they will still find ways to bypass the laws. There has been no manpower to enforce existing regulations, and I doubt any money has been set aside to enforce it now.
I should have mentioned that Lucy's Law applies to puppies and kittens of less than six months. Re. Business registration, I think it will be wise for every breeder to keep all their records and book-keeping up to date. As so many puppies are bred in private homes, and by breeders who only have maybe one litter a year, I can see this leading to a shortfall in the supply of puppies, and possibly an increase in their value. I do hope this doesn't lead to an even greater level of dog theft than is taking place at present. I remember the introduction of 1973 Breeding of Dogs Act, which required anyone with three or more bitches of breeding age to register as a breeder with the local council. There was so much consternation, that my C.S. organised a Question and Answer session with the Local Authority Officer for that area. In the event, the law was very lightly administered, and relatively few of these licenses were issued. I was refused a license by our local Public Health Officer, who believed that my one litter a year didn't warrant a licence, and said that if my handful of Cavalier girls needed one, then so did his. He had three Afghan bitches, but never bred from them. I hope a similar degree of common sense prevails this time too.
Luckily dog theft was not common in the days that I was a breeder - and as my house was in a short alleyway at the end of a cul-de-sac and back garden had 6' high fencing, only close neighbours ever knew I had puppies. As I only ever had two bitches of breeding age at any time that would not have applied to me.
