Public urged to help end puppy farming

Today sees the launch of Dogs Trust Ireland’s poignant ‘End Puppy Farming’ campaign. The charity is urging the public to be the voice for the voiceless mums and pups in Ireland by signing their petition to create a different type of demand – a demand to eradicate puppy farming in Ireland.

This year alone, Dogs Trust cared for 130 victims of illegal puppy farming. The dogs suffered from matted coats, caked in their own excrement, overgrown nails, dental disease, ear infections, skin infections and were described by the charity’s veterinary and behaviour teams as ‘terrified’ of human contact. So bad was the condition of the dogs’ coats, many had to be shaved upon arrival.

Vets can usually estimate a dog’s age based on the condition of their teeth, but many of the dogs, including Toby, a Bichon Frise had such severe dental disease, this proved impossible. Toby was already missing 19 teeth and had to have a further 18 removed. One tooth infection was so serious, it caused an opening from Toby’s mouth into his nasal cavity.

Speaking about the campaign, Executive Director, Dogs Trust Ireland, Becky Bristow said: “While the term ‘puppy farm’ may conjure images of fluffy puppies roaming free, nothing could be further from the truth. The condition of the dogs we took in was appalling. Their physical neglect and the pain many of them were in was shocking enough but their sheer terror and avoidance of humans is something that will stay with our team forever. When the dogs were discovered and when they arrived into our care, the silence was deafening, they were literally too afraid to bark or indeed make any sound at all. Even the sound of our footsteps approaching, had them running to hide and huddle together for comfort. It was absolutely heartbreaking to witness.”

Blue, a six-year-old Cavalier crossbreed, gave birth to a litter of five puppies shortly after arriving to Dogs Trust. However, she was so petrified of people, a very difficult decision was made to allow another dog to rear her puppies, to prevent Blue from passing on her extreme fearfulness to the litter.

Head of Communications, Dogs Trust Ireland, Ciara Byrne continued: “Sadly, the pandemic has been a puppy farmer’s dream come true. The massive demand for dogs, especially ‘designer crossbreeds, saw dogs advertised online at huge prices, meaning huge profits for many unscrupulous, greedy breeders. We are pleading with people who buy puppies to please source them responsibly, as failure to get them from a reputable source is supporting this abhorrent trade. It’s also creating lives of misery for the parents, especially the mums who churn out litter after litter from dark, squalid little pens.”

PETITION

Dogs Trust is urging the public to sign their petition via DogsTrust.ie/EndPuppyFarming to help end the misery and suffering caused by puppy farming in Ireland.

Find Dogs Trust on Facebook, and Instagram or follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #EndPuppyFarming.

To find out more about how you can support this campaign log onto DogsTrust.ie/EndPuppyFarming