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<p>This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very
seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws
on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely
for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare.</p><p> </p><p>Under The Animal
Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the
2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds
three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to have a valid licence from
their local authority. Licences must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards,
including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early
age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke
licences. Any licensee advertising dogs for sale will need to include their licence
number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional
requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the dog for sale must
be displayed along with a recognisable photograph.</p><p> </p><p>We banned the commercial
third-party sales of puppies and kittens in England from 6 April 2020. This ban aims
to disrupt the low-welfare trade that supports puppy farming by preventing pet shops,
pet dealers and other commercial outlets from selling these animals in England unless
they themselves have bred them. It means anyone looking to get a puppy must buy direct
from a breeder or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead.</p><p> </p><p>The
2018 Regulations require Local Authorities to maintain a record of the number of licences
in force for each activity in their respective area. Furthermore, as Local Authorities
are responsible for enforcing animal related activities which are licensed, such as
pet selling or dog breeding, they will hold details on the level of enforcement activity
being undertaken in their area.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile my department maintains a
national communications campaign (Petfished) to raise awareness of issues associated
with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting
on where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective
buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase.
The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching
for a pet online. More information can be found here: <a href="https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/"
target="_blank">https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>We have
also endorsed The Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) which was created to combat
growing concerns about the irresponsible advertising of pets for sale, rehoming and
exchange and backed a set of Minimum Standards that PAAG developed which several of
the UK’s largest classified websites have agreed to meet.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore,
the Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling and one
of our key reforms in the Action Plan on Animal Welfare is to end this abhorrent,
cruel practice and low-welfare pet imports. Through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals)
Bill currently before Parliament, we will introduce new powers to tackle the unethical
trade of puppy smuggling by reducing the number of pets (dogs, cats and ferrets) that
can travel under pet travel rules. The Bill will also include powers for the Government
to bring in further restrictions on the movement of pets on welfare grounds, for example
by increasing the minimum age of imported puppies and restricting the import of pregnant
dogs and dogs with mutilations such as cropped ears and tails.</p>
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