KENNEL CLUB RESPONSE TO WESTMINSTER DEBATE ON THIRD PARTY PUPPY SALES

Following an announcement by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that there will be another consultation on the practice of selling puppies via third parties (announced Monday 21 May 2018) the Kennel Club has issued the following statement:

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary said: “We are thrilled that George Eustice has announced that Defra will issue another consultation on banning the third party sale of puppies, which is a crucial first step to tackling the cruel puppy farming industry. If this policy is implemented it will stop the suffering of many dogs and send a very strong message to puppy buyers that it is never ok to see a puppy in any environment other than the one it was born and raised in, and with its mum. Good breeders, such as Kennel Club Assured Breeders, will have nothing to hide and would simply never sell their puppies to a pet dealer or pet shop.

“The sale of puppies through third parties, such as pet shops, is simply a smokescreen designed to protect puppy farmers, with terrible consequences for dog welfare. Puppy buyers unknowingly purchase a puppy from a seemingly nice dealer in pleasant surroundings, who has in fact purchased the puppy from a backstreet dealer who has given no thought to the health and welfare of the pup or its mother.

“We have long supported and campaigned for a ban on third party sales, which is explicitly against our regulations, and it was one our main aims in our A Dog’s Life Manifesto, so we are delighted to see this issue being taken seriously.”

ENDS