19 Nov 2025
Study identified systemic issues caused by outdated legislation, consumer culture and a lack of traceability, and a need for significant reform.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Inadequate regulation of the UK puppy trade has a detrimental impact on animal welfare, public health and the environment, a fresh study has found.
Published in Animal Welfare, the study identified systemic issues caused by outdated legislation, consumer culture and a lack of traceability, and a need for significant reform. Its authors found evidence the move to online sales caused the puppy trade to rapidly evolve and “outpace” existing legislation, which fails to protect dogs and consumers alike.
The paper offered a comprehensive review of the existing statutory framework and enforcement mechanisms regulating the trade, as well as other relevant literature.
It found a range of canine welfare issues including poor conditions on puppy farms and in transit, links between the trade and an increased prevalence of health conditions and behavioural issues, and disorders caused by breeding dogs with extreme body conformations.
Public health risks included the potential spread of zoonotic disease and an implied link between dog bite incidents – which rose by 34% in England and Wales between 2020 and 2023 – and unethical puppy trading.
The study noted that licensed breeders supply only 15% to 20% of the approximately one million dogs and puppies entering UK households each year. It also found evidence of links between the puppy trade and the funding of organised crime, with minimal penalties for offenders making it a relatively low-risk endeavour.
The authors noted the lack of traceability of dogs compared with livestock and horses, and the impact public awareness campaigns can have on promoting responsible sourcing among consumers.
A surge in the canine population enabled by the trade has also had implications for antibiotic and anthelmintic resistance, and environmental harm via waste and parasiticide pollution.
Lead author, Katharine Ross, said: “The puppy trade in the UK is inflicting severe and legacy harm on canine welfare, and many animal welfare researchers, advocates, non-profit organisations, and policymakers are working tirelessly to assess and mitigate this.
“These issues reflect challenges seen in various novel online marketplaces, where current legislation, effective two decades ago, now struggles to keep pace with the rapid evolution of digital commerce and the effects of an equally under-regulated social media landscape that heavily influences consumer culture and behaviour.
“From a one health perspective, the consequences of poor online regulation are complex and widespread, demonstrating the urgent need for a multi-agency, interdisciplinary response.”
The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, which passed a second reading in the House of Lords in September, would raise the minimum age for imported puppies and kittens from 15 weeks to six months, and ban the import of pregnant animals beyond 42 days of gestation.
Defra said the bill “closes loopholes exploited by unscrupulous commercial traders”, reducing the maximum number of pets that can be brought into the country in a single non-commercial movement and explicitly linking pet movement to that of its owner.
It added that any exemption to its measures will need to be finely balanced against the risk of creating further loopholes.
