Puppies.co.uk calls for national licensing laws on puppy trade

Puppies.co.uk has called for new national licensing laws to crackdown on the criminal puppy trade and unsafe rescues.

The company sent Freedom of Information requests to metropolitan borough councils and found they received over 200 reports of illegally imported pets.

Many dogs arriving from countries such as Romania, Ukraine and North Macedonia are not properly assessed or health tested before being delivered to UK homes.

While Scotland requires dog rescues to be licensed, there are no equivalent laws in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. As a result puppies.co.uk is calling for new legislation to license all rescue shelters before further tragedies occur.

The company believes that some councils don’t have the “time, funding or training to carry out proper checks” while standards vary from council to council.

A spokesperson for the company stated: “While rescuing an animal is noble, it isn’t always the right fit for every family, especially those with young children or limited time to rehabilitate a potentially traumatised dog. Responsible, traceable breeding ensures that families can still give a dog a loving home without compromising safety or welfare.

“We continue to advocate for strict standards around both breeding and rescue, and believe that ethical home-matching, with full transparency around a pet’s health, temperament and history, must be the baseline, not the exception.”

They added: “But the issue doesn’t end there. There are a number of problems within the UK’s breeder licensing system. Although having a licence can be a helpful sign that a breeder is doing things properly, it’s not a guarantee.

“We’re not asking for more licences. What we need is proper licensing reform. That means a national system with clear rules, high and consistent standards for raising a litter responsibly, a new regulatory body to ease the burden off councils, and more public awareness of what a licence means.”