8 Jul 2020
Dogs Trust says it has been business as usual for puppy smugglers, despite the coronavirus lockdown, and has rescued 43 dogs with a street value of £80,000.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Some of the puppies found covered in oil after being smuggled into the country.
Dogs Trust is calling for better checks at UK ports and for every imported dog to have a rabies blood test as it revealed illegal puppy smuggling had continued as normal under the COVID-19 lockdown.
Since the start of lockdown on 23 March, the charity revealed it had rescued 43 dogs via its Puppy Pilot scheme, with an estimated street value of £80,000. The Puppy Pilot scheme aids in the interception of dogs seized by the Animal and Plant Health Agency at ports, and provides care and rehabilitation to them before they are rehoused.
It said it had also saved 12 heavily pregnant mums, which have given birth to 53 puppies valued at an additional £100,000 to those smuggling them.
In a campaign to raise awareness of puppy smuggling among the public with demand for puppies soaring during the lockdown, Dogs Trust said six puppies had been found covered in oil in the back of a van at Dover, having been imported from Romania.
The three Maltese, two Havanese and one bichon frise pups, aged at around 11 weeks old, were said by the charity to be in “an appalling condition, drenched in oil and suffering from diarrhoea”.
They are now in the care of Dogs Trust, which believes the recent incidents are the tip of the iceberg.
Dogs Trust is now stepping up its demands from the Government to act on the trade in puppies, calling for:
Dogs Trust veterinary director Paula Boyden said: “It is absolutely heartbreaking that we continue to see dogs being illegally imported into the country, often in terrible conditions to make huge profits for cruel puppy smugglers.
“We might be in the midst of a pandemic, but these devious sellers will still use every trick in the book to scam unsuspecting dog lovers.”
The Puppy Pilot scheme has helped rescue 1,167 dogs since its launch in December 2015. Most popular breeds include the dachshund, French bulldog, Maltese and larger breeds including the chow chow.
