'Rescue' dogs from puppy mills

Qualitymark

New scam spreading across the world, targeting naive animal-lovers:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131030-buyer-beware-pet-rescue-fraud

From Ireland to Oregon, large breeding operations are using online pet adoption sites — once almost purely the realm of dutiful charities saving animals from abusive homes — to peddle dogs. Many pretend to be rescue organisations, while others have actually formed legal charities to sell animals raised in factory-like facilities.

and

In Ireland, animal welfare workers hoped legislation passed in 2012 banning puppy mills would end the problem of factory dog farms. But government cutbacks lessened enforcement, and the mills are still breeding 90,000 dogs a year, half of them exported primarily to the UK and Europe.

sillysmiles

Has anyone experienced this with rescues here?

DBB

But.... There is no legislation here that bans puppy mills!
The legislation is an attempt to regulate dog breeding establishments, but there is nothing within the legislation to stop anyone having a barnful of dogs breeding hundreds, or thousands, of puppies.
In fact, the more breeding bitches you own, the less expensive your breeding license is pro rata.
The standards in which the dogs are kept are addressed, but they are subjective, and not exactly insistant on particularly high-quality animal husbandry.
In short, our wonderful new legislation did not ban puppy farms.... It actually legalised them.

Qualitymark

Yup, I visited a 'pet farm' a few years back and found, in the toilet, boxes full of puppies with no water.

stoeger2000

DBB wrote: »

But.... There is no legislation here that bans puppy mills!
The legislation is an attempt to regulate dog breeding establishments, but there is nothing within the legislation to stop anyone having a barnful of dogs breeding hundreds, or thousands, of puppies.
In fact, the more breeding bitches you own, the less expensive your breeding license is pro rata.
The standards in which the dogs are kept are addressed, but they are subjective, and not exactly insistant on particularly high-quality animal husbandry.
In short, our wonderful new legislation did not ban puppy farms.... It actually legalised them.

Do you have a link to the legislation?? Wouldn't mind having a read of it.
Personally I think the ikc have a lot to answer for. Still a lot of back yard breeders out there, churning out pups for a few quid with little or no regard for animal welfare.

tk123

stoeger2000 wrote: »

Do you have a link to the legislation?? Wouldn't mind having a read of it.
Personally I think the ikc have a lot to answer for. Still a lot of back yard breeders out there, churning out pups for a few quid with little or no regard for animal welfare.

I think irresponsible people are the ones who have a lot to answer for - there wouldn't be puppy farmers if there wasn't a market for the pups. Too many people buy a pup without thinking (or caring?) about what will happen when it grows up because they can dump it when they don't want it anymore or when they decide to emigrate the next year or have a baby etc etc etc There needs to be more enforcement/penalties put on people like in other countries.

stoeger2000

stoeger2000 wrote: »

Do you have a link to the legislation?? Wouldn't mind having a read of it.
Personally I think the ikc have a lot to answer for. Still a lot of back yard breeders out there, churning out pups for a few quid with little or no regard for animal welfare.

I think this is it.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/pdf/2010/en.act.2010.0029.pdf

Inexile

Great now puppy mills are pretending to be rescues and/or charities. Its hard for people to know whats best. You can recommend that people visit the rescue/buyers premises before agreeing on a dog its not always possible with rescues. A lot of rescues are operated on a voluntary basis and its not always possible to accommodate the general public.

I know the group I volunteer for would have some difficulty wanting to visit the premises where the dogs are at as we kennel the dogs in private boarding spaces which are not also available to view without prior notice and the distance from the potential home and kennel could be off putting.

However, I would suggest you get sound references from other re a rescue and ask them re their procedures and if something doesn't fully fit that walk away.

Qualitymark

That's all very well… I was talking to a friend a few years ago who'd found a breeder selling the same type of rare breed she'd had as a kid.
"Make sure you see the puppy with its mother and get to handle it there," I told her. She nodded and agreed with all my good advice.
Then she went and met the breeder in a car park and he showed her a photo of the puppy (or a puppy, anyway) with mother, and gave her a lovely quiet pup, took the money (lots) and sped away.
She brought the pup home and it crawled in behind the couch and slept for three days. Later she realised it must have been drugged.
From that day until its sad death after one bitten leg too many, it was as crazy as a crazy thing, and a big bundle of troubles.
People are just blind when they want a particular type of puppy.

stoeger2000

tk123 wrote: »

I think irresponsible people are the ones who have a lot to answer for - there wouldn't be puppy farmers if there wasn't a market for the pups. Too many people buy a pup without thinking (or caring?) about what will happen when it grows up because they can dump it when they don't want it anymore or when they decide to emigrate the next year or have a baby etc etc etc There needs to be more enforcement/penalties put on people like in other countries.

very true regarding irresponsible puppy buyers, but if you have a national canine organisation like the IKC, surely they should have a national breeders program where they actually have people checking the breeders facilities??
DNA testing should be brought in. breeders licenses should be mandatory.
there are lots of ways of shutting down puppy farms and irresponsible breeders. but i agree with your point regarding the buyers, but bear in mind, a lot of buyers just dont know any better. The breeders do tho!!