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<p>In October 2018, The Animal Welfare (licensing of Activities Involving Animals)
(England) Regulations 2018 came into force which updated and improved the laws on
the breeding and selling of dogs in England.</p><p> </p><p>The new regulations require
dog breeders and sellers to adhere to strict statutory minimum welfare standards linked
to the welfare needs set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This includes prohibiting
the sale of puppies below the age of 8 weeks; preventing licensed breeders from selling
dogs not bred by them and preventing breeders from breeding dogs if it can be reasonably
expected on the basis of their genotype, phenotype or health that this would lead
to welfare problems for the mother or the puppies. In addition, licensed breeders
must show puppies to purchasers in the presence of the mother and licensed pet sellers
must complete the sale of a dog in the presence of the purchaser on the licensed premises.
This prevents online sales of puppies.</p><p> </p><p>Any licensed breeder advertising
puppies for sale must include their licence number in the advert to improve traceability.
In addition, from 6 April 2020, the regulations will prohibit the commercial third
party sale of puppies and kittens to directly tackle low welfare, high volume breeding,
known as puppy farms. In advance of this ban coming into force, the Government will
launch a public awareness campaign on the responsible sourcing of puppies and kittens.</p><p>
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