We all agree that puppy farming is a very bad thing and everything must be done to stop it, however it is not always as simple as people suggest to have a blanket policy for everything. There is talk of tightening the PETS passport regulations to make it harder for the import of illegal puppies from abroad, but some of what people suggest would be a problem for legal puppies too! It is not right to say there is no reason to import a dog as young as 15 weeks old to the UK and therefore the age could be raised to six months to make it unattractive. What about breeds such as ours? We are a very small breed in the UK and in the interests of our health we need to bring in new breeding lines. It is much better to bring a puppy to his or her new home while he is young enough to find adapting easy and socialise in his or her new environment. Changing the regulations to mean we could not do this would be very hard on our breed as well as others in a similar situation. It would be very easy to write an exception into the legislation to allow for younger puppies to be brought in by their new owner and not by someone planning to sell them. There must be a way they could be pre-registered with the Kennel Club so that paperwork was already in the name of the new owner at the point of entry. Not everyone bringing a puppy into the UK is a puppy farmer, some are doing it for all the right reasons.
Sorry, you may not have needed to know all that, but I just needed to have a rant and you’re my captive audience!
Alfie’s Diary – the Book is available at Amazon UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00583ZGSA
You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com