The Farmers Hidden Secret

The Farmers Hidden Secret.  

 

Before reading further please open the link http://www.beilibluetexels.co.uk/ to find what can be described as a very attractive sketch of a period farmhouse as it was years ago and alongside the property as it can be seen today, a modern photo of a farmhouse with agriculture sheds to the right, making an attractive rural scene. The written account refers to the occupants prized sheep, a flock of blue texels named after the property Beili Bedw, together with details of the business side of the farm of 120 acres owned, with a further 180 acres rented fields used by the sheep farmer to graze his 1,200 sheep for meat production.

The article makes interesting reading.  One could be forgiven for taking the account on face value, the life of a modern day sheep farmer following in the steps of his grandfather who was also a farmer with an interest in livestock.   However there is a difference, this modern day farmer has a secret, one he hides from view and does not advertise or write about on web sites, in fact you will find no advertisements for his wares. His hidden secret lies behind the agriculture barn doors and they are silent.

This modern day sheep farmer is also a licensed commercial dog breeder (licensed by Carmarthenshire County Council), not like his grandfather who kept a few dogs for breeding but is licensed to keep 196 dogs on the premises.   Making this modern day farmer the largest licensed commercial dog breeder in West Wales.  Like all battery dog farmers, (the name I use to descibe  these large commercial breeders), he too sells his litters of puppies to dealers and pet shops.  The general public do not enter the premises to purchase puppies, therefore few people know what goes on behind the closed doors of the agriculture barns - these dogs, just like the battery hens live for most of their entire productive life behind closed doors, they are kept for one purpose alone to produce endless litters of puppies.

This sheep farmer that was granted retrospective planning permission for change of use for the agriculture sheds from 9 breeding dogs in 1994 to 196 dogs on the premises in 2011. was the same farmer that placed the original application into the Council for an extension to the barns stating the use was for housing sheep and agriculture implements. That plan did not materialise, the farmer declared in his statement to planning.  Instead this modern day farmer equipped the agriculture barns with automatic feeders, made cubicles for the dogs, lots of dogs, many more than his licence permitted but he forgot he needed to have planning permission for change of use. 

 

This modern day farmer even believed together with his wife, an employee of Carmarthenshire County Council and one part time employee that they could adequately care for, at the time  in 2011, 800 sheep and 200 followers, now increased their stock to 1,200 sheep and 196 dogs and the Council agreed this is acceptable.   Is it any wonder that this retrospective application drew the attention of nearly 800 objections, all ignored by Carmarthenshire County Council, who have shown only contempt for peoples objections and gave permission - common sense disregarded.

Look again at the photo of the agriculture barns and ask yourself what must it be like for a dog to spend its entire life within an agriculture barn to produce and whelp puppies every heat season for the pet trade?   The dog breeding licence conditions may say a breeding dog can only produce one litter in 12 month period but without irrefutable identification how can one tell.
 

Who is socialising the puppies? There is no one to care adequately for the dog’s or the puppies needs and who will take care for a breeding bitch about to give birth and to oversee their whelping needs? This is gross exploitation of the needs of the dogs for monetary gain. It is not acceptable to accommodate a few hundred dogs in a barn with automatic feeders and expect them to fend for themselves. It is also not acceptable for Carmarthenshire County Council to have agreed to licence the premises for 196 dogs and granting planning permission for change of use.
 

Mr modern farmer next time you decide to write about your business affairs and the sheep that you so proudly display at shows, spare a thought for your dogs the ones that are isolated within your agriculture sheds, the dogs that are to you only as important as to the income gained from their exploitation on the conveyor belt system operating within yours and others premises churning out endless litters of puppies then selling them to dealers for the pet trade.  Why not write about their life on a web site?  No of course that would not be advisable because too many decent people may object to the commercial breeding of dogs contained within agriculture sheds on a battery dog farm, kept as livestock.  Dogs are sentient beings, please treat them as such instead of exploiting them for monetary gain.
 

Read the full account of the planning application and the Councils decision here.   It is quite enlightening.
http://online.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/agendas/eng/PLAC20110830/REP03.HTM

 

Beili blue Texels

www.beilibluetexels.co.uk

Beili Blues is a pedegree flock of Blue Texel Sheep based in Llanllwni north of carmarthenshire.

 

 

Pet shop helps rescue?

To operate their business Oak Tree Kennels were granted by their local Council a pet shop licence, this enables them to buy in and resell puppies. As a condition of their licence they are inspected once a year, but like many Councils that licence pet shops they use just the standard conditions which are basic and relate to the premises and the conditions under which the puppies are sold and accomodated whilst waiting to be sold. The pet shop licence, unless the Council has placed 'extra conditions' on the licence places no restrictions on the owner of the premises to purchase their puppies from reputable sources. Taking into account that responsible, ethical breeders do not sell puppies to pet shops and dealers the only doors open to those that operate under their pet shop licence is to purchase puppies from commercial breeders/battery dog farmers/puppy farmers usually supplied though a dealer.

The purchaser is usually asked to sign a puppy agreement and offered four weeks free insurance, but a pedigree certificate is not always offered or registration document, however the puppies they say are front lined and wormed and health checked, however why they are health checked is unknown as the purchaser does not always receive a vaccination card to verify the puppy is vaccinated.

Anyone purchasing a puppy under these circumstances will not be able to verify where the puppy was bred and by whom. The puppy maybe advertised as a pedigree puppy by the name of the pedigree breed but without authentic paperwork how can the purchaser be certain of the breed of puppy, where it was bred and under what circumstances if sold without any history or more to the point the purchaser is unable to speak to the breeder.

This is a high price to pay (in cash) for a puppy of an unknown quality, even worse when a puppy is found to be sick within 48hours of purchase and the owner is faced with veterinary bills. To see a puppy with diarrhoea with blood and mucus is alarming at any time but even more so when the puppy is so young. To have to take it back and forth to the vets for tests and samples, to be told the puppy has coccidia, compylabactor, possible kennel cough, (one of which is a zoonosis, the other conditions infect other puppies/dogs) seeing the puppy becomming lethargic then admitted to a veterinary hospital, all within a few days of purchase is very disconcerting and upsetting.

This situation should occur but it does, there is no excuse if pet shops obtained their puppies from reputable ethical breeders but of course an reputable, ethical breeder would not sell litters of puppies to dealers and pet shops as explained earlier. If pet shops and dealers were proud of the puppies they sold why not be honest with the consumer and offer the full details of the puppies breeder, something they should be doing if the breeder complied with their own dog breeding licensing conditions when selling to a licensed pet shop. However, due to the shady operating practices of pet shops licence holders some do not disclose their source of supply of puppies even to the purchaser.

The general public must be more aware of the way puppy traders operate and not be duped into a false sense of security by listening to sales talk. This pet shop states the 'puppy is being homed to help fund the rescue work of Oaktree Kennels! That should not be a reason to buy a puppy so more can be bred to end up in rescue, what a nonsense.

Puppies imported illegally from Eastern Europe.

The concern for purchasing a puppy from a pet shop, dealer, free ads in newspapers ad online web sites has always been highlighted by Puppy Alert. In recent months there has been the added concern of purchasing a puppy that has been bred in Eastern Europe and exported illegally to the UK without the correct paperwork or vaccine as required under the Pet Passport scheme, due to the UK laxing its quarantine regulations.

More information can be read in this article highlighted by Hampshire Trading Standards where some purchasers have been faced with extra costs above the price of the puppy, including veterinary bills and quarantine for their puppies after purchasing a puppy online.

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/communications/mediacentre/mediareleases.htm?newsid=526600

If you cannot see the puppy with its mother in it's natural surroundings then you should not be purchasing the puppy.  Because you have not met the breeder, you cannot be certain the puppy is healthy, vaccinated with the correct paperwork.  A risk not worth taking when rabies in some countries is still prevalent.

LoveuPuppy

When I thought that the method of selling of puppies could not stoop any lower up pops this online pet store. First thoughts were that this must surely be a scam even with further enquiries I still am not certain if it is an active web site or not.  Making the assumption that this virtual company registered in Dublin is actually selling puppies on line through their web site or not, my warning is please do not be persuaded to purchase a puppy from an online web site. 

You should never ever purchase a puppy if you cannot view the puppy interacting with its litter mates and the dam of the puppies.  When buying a puppy online web site or from any pet shop this is not possible and a puppy purchased this way is of unknown quality.

There is no factual information given to a prospective purchaser of where the puppy was bred other than a piece of paper they refer to as a birth certificate.

The puppy will only be vaccinated against parvo virus.

They cannot ascertain the exact age of the puppy that you order on line.

They say order on line before mid-day and the puppy can be delivered to your door the following day anywhere in the UK.  A puppy is a sentient being not a product (such as a CD, DVD or book ordered from Amazon) to be delivered to your door for cash. 

They expect you the customer to pay £95 deposit by credit or debit card then CASH on delivery.  Who would be as foolish as to hand over £500 to £1000 or more to a stranger on the door?  I really cannot imagine anyone would be so naive as to fall for the sales patter but some will.

This company if they are active in this sordid trade of puppy trafficking require a pet shop licence, they also need authorisation under the Animal Welfare Transportation (England) Order 2006 to move puppies from place to place as part of a business.  If this web site is active in selling puppies (and not a scam in terms of pay your deposit and receive no puppy), the warning is still the same do not purchase a puppy from companies where you are unable to see the puppy interacting with its mother.

If you do not purchase puppies from these sites, the web sites active life maybe be very short lived, They need your money to keep operational please do not give it to them.
 

Sylvesters Pet shops, Harrow and Hanwell, owner prosecuted.

This is fantastic news for all groups that campaign against the sale of puppies from pet shops and dealers.  It has taken a long time to reach the point of a Court hearing and a successful prosecution but the end result is a one to be applauded.  It proves that forward thinking Councils are prepared to act against pet shop licence holders that flaunt the law.   

http://cornerstonebarristers.com/news/pet-shop-disqualification/

This is why it is so important for anyone who purchases a puppy from any outlet that is dissatisfied to contact the Council responsible for Licensing the trader, Trading Standards or Consumer Direct with as much information as possible and if asked please be prepared to give a written statement.  It is only through factual evidence that Councils can reach the point (after seeking advice from their legal representatives) of presenting a case to Court.

It will not be for your own puppy you are seeking justice but for all the others sold through pet shops and dealers, not forgetting the breeding dogs responsible for producing thousands of puppies each year for the puppy trade.

Even if the pet shop has offered you a refund for your puppy and asked you sign a disclaimer (do not sign) you are still entitled to refund if you have been mis-sold.  Seek advice first from Consumer Direct before you approach the pet shop.

Do not be fobbed off with useless often incorrect sales talk given by dealers and pet shops.  Better still never buy puppy from a pet shop or dealer.   

Eastern European Puppies in pet shops - London

As feared the laxing of the Pet Travel Scheme has encouraged a pet shop licence holder to purchase puppies from Eastern Europe.  One such pet shop Aardvark Kennels in Newham, East London during the last week has advertised six different breeds of puppies sold with Pet Passports.

The Eastern European puppy trade and puppy trafficking is equally as despicable as puppy farming in Wales and the Irish Republic by licensed and unlicensed commercial breeders where most pet shop licence holders source their puppies from.

Puppies arriving in the UK from Eastern Europe to enable them to have Pet Passport must be microchiped prior to receiving a vaccinaton against rabies and tapeworm treatment by a vet, all details must be entered on the puppies Pet Passport.  As the puppy is normally 12 weeks of age when the last rabies vaccine is administered te puppy must wait a further 21 days in its country of residence.   This means the puppy is nearly 4 months of age before it can arrive in the UK.

By this age a puppy should be house trained and socialised but these puppies have missed the most important short window for mental and social development of between 6 and 14 weeks of age due to remaining on the breeders premises, travelling from an Eastern European country to the UK and then waiting to be sold in a pet shop.  A pet shop offers no practical stimulation for the puppies, most are not even provided with a toy to play with by the owner.  Like all puppies sold in pet shops, according to their sellers they are supposed to be suitable to become companion animals - family pets.   Yet neither purchaser or shop owner will have any knowledge of health status of the puppies parents, the premises the puppy was bred in, the care of the puppy from birth until it travelled at 15 weeks of age or later from Slovakia to London. 

The puppies trauma does not end there it is then deposited in a bare, barren pet shop with nothing of interest but blank walls.  The pet shop environment lacks the  proper care and stimulus required to ensure that the puppies life is enriched whilst waiting to be sold, the longer this continues the more chance the puppy will suffer from nervousness with the possibilty of behaviour and temperament problems. 

The puppy trade and puppy trafficking is is detrimental to animal welfare.

Puppies should not be allowed to b sold from pet shops or any pet shop licence holders premises.

The purchase of puppies from pet shops is never advisable and should be discouraged.

Newham Council as the licensing authourity for Aardvark Kennels and London Prestige Puppies should place extra conditions on all their pet shop licences restricting where their licence holders can purchase puppies from.     

All campaigning groups including the Dogs Trust, Kennel Club, Puppy Love Campaigns to name but a few are requesting that puppies should not be sold from pet shops or dealers. If you feel the same please write to your MP and Defra Animal Welfare department.     

Pet Travel Scheme - Irish Republic to the UK

On the 1st January 2012 Defra eased quarantine regulations for dogs and puppies entering the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme.  Under EU legislation 998/2003, all puppies and dogs (other than dogs entering shows or competitions) entering the UK from the Irish Republic must have an EU Pet Passport.  The new legislation is not only a legal requirement for dog owners wishing to travel between the Irish Republic and the UK and vice versa with their companion animals (up to 5 animals) a time but it is now a legal requirement for all puppies and dogs leaving the Irish Republic that are part of a commercial consignment they must before entering the UK be in possession of a EU pet passport.

Firstly the puppy or dog must be microchipped before vaccinated against rabies.  The vet must read the microchip number and record it on the puppy or dogs vaccination EU Passport which will hold details of the rabies vaccine.  As the rabies vaccine is not normally given until the puppy is 12 weeks of age (some vaccine manufacturers say vets can administer at 8 weeks but then a second vaccine is required at 12 weeks) the puppy or dog must then wait 21 days from the date of the last vaccine before it is able to leave the Irish Republic to enter the UK.

As the EU legislation 998/2003 Pet Travel Scheme is also UK law it now means that all dog breeders, and dealers wishing to export puppies to the UK must comply with this legislation.  Therefore there should not be any puppies for sale in any pet shop or from a pet shop licence holders premises in the UK originating from the Irish Republic for sale that do not have and EU passport, microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.  They should also be at least 15 weeks of age too. If you are aware of any puppies being sold without a pet passport or less than 15 weeks of age from the Irish Republic please contact puppyalert@btinternet.com or Trading Standards.

The new legislation will also effect rescues bringing puppies and dogs into the UK from the Irish Republic, they too must comply with the legislation just the same as as other sectors highlighted above.

This is good news for those of us that campaign against puppies arriving in the UK from puppy farms in the Irish Republic as the legislation may curb the flow of young, indiscriminately bred puppies reaching pet shops.  The hassle for some breeders of compliance maybe too much and not cost effective and for pet shops in the UK needing to wait until the puppy is 15 weeks of age before it can enter the UK may make it a less attractive option.

I do not think the legislation has reached the ears of  pet shop licence holders or rescues that bring puppies and dogs into the UK, as none appear to be adhering to the new regulations.  However, ignorance is no excuse and those involved with bringing puppies and dogs into the UK from the Irish Republic without an EU passport will be reported to the authorities in anticipation that the legislation will be enforced.