Councils are responsible for licensing dog breeders, dealers and pet shops premises, yet many dog breeders operate commercially and licensed but do not have planning permission, whilst many others operate unlicensed and without planning permission. This is particularly noticeable in Wales.
When licences are granted some Councils fail to ensure that dog breeders, dealers and pet shops adhere to their licence conditions, even when matters of concern relating to animal welfare are drawn to their attention. Failure to use their power of enforcement and allowing dog breeders to continue to operate, leaves dogs and puppies to suffer in poor conditions. Many Councils are lacking in controlling the numbers of dogs allowed for dog breeding on the premises, this results in many dogs living in inadequate conditions to rear and raise their puppies, which again causes suffering. Premises are allowed to operate, often with just a husband and wife team, without Councils ensuring that extra staff are employed to care for the dogs as well as raising litters of puppies which is often an impossible task when the number of dogs far exceed the numbers of hands available particularly at whelping time.
Some Councils even fail to ensure that dog breeders, dealers and pet shops comply with current legislation such Breeding and Sale of Dogs (welfare) Act 1999, Animal Welfare Act and the Pet Animals Act 1951 (amended 1991).
Pat: I think the Worse thing in the situation is the FACT the Puppy Farming was not address,in the the current Animal Welfare Act 2006. It does say that you (The Police and RSPCA) may go onto farms to investigate animals kept in unsatisfactory conditions or state of health, which really is DEFRA remit, but it also added that these animals that were to be Agricultural, so that would include HORSES. Dogs and Puppy Farms were not included.
ReplyDeleteWhat sickens me is the fact that Experimental Animals and Puppy Farms is something the RSPCA seem to turn a blind eye to, they are not provided with the 5 Freedoms, and Suffer Mental Cruelty, both come under the AWA 2006.
The reason people are asking for, this new law to be repealed because it is such a joke, in fact the AWA 2006 does not even include the word CRUELTY. It also states that the serious cases would be investigated by the Police.
It actually promised Special Welfare Offices for 2.5 years to members of the Coomons and Lords at in the last two weeks DEFRA admitted they could not afford it, leaving the RSPCA in charge. Perhaps this was the arrangement when the RSPCA gave the Labour Government 9 million a couple of years before.