Dog breeders from Northern Ireland are asking the government to regulate their industry in an attempt to ban puppy farms by convicting those with convictions for cruelty to animals from owning or keeping animals in future.

The group Canine Breeders of Ireland is a body representing around 600 dog breeders. The group has called for Department of Agriculture vets to be held responsible for animal welfare and to be given the authority to deal with those farming puppies.

‘Puppy farm’ is a term the general public now associates with unregulated dog breeders that do not care for their animals and treat dogs cruelly, according to the canine group when it gave evidence to the assembly’s agriculture committee. Many of these ‘puppy farms’ have a number of bitches, all bred to one stud dog, and multiple litters kept in unsanitary conditions with unsatisfactory levels of care.

The group stated that its member dog breeders were proud of their puppies and all their breeding premises were open for council inspection whenever required. The group also invited the committee members to visit a County Fermanagh dog breeder’s premises, which rears puppies for the British market.

Dog breeder David Hamilton said:

“This is a licensed breeding establishment and I think people need to understand that a puppy farm is somewhere where animals are treated badly, where there are welfare issues and where they are exploited. That is certainly not the case here, and I’d say that is not the case in the vast majority of licensed breeding establishments.”

More than 7,400 dogs were recovered by dog wardens in Northern Ireland last year and figures show over one third of all stray dogs in the UK are located in Northern Ireland, so it was of little surprise when the committee asked if dog breeders contribute to welfare problems by producing puppies and adding to the level of stray dogs.

Canine Breeders of Ireland representatives stated its member’s puppies were not only of high-value but most puppies are exported to Britain so very few would find themselves in council dog shelters, if any.

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