Dr Neil Hudson MP joined forces with Dogs Trust at their parliamentary event to help raise awareness among MPs and Lords about the need to end the cruel puppy smuggling trade.
Sadly, loopholes in the law have allowed the puppy smuggling trade to continue - having exploded in the UK due to higher asking prices for dogs following a pandemic boom. Animals are shipped hundreds of miles - often from Central and Eastern Europe - without care for their welfare. These include underage dogs, heavily pregnant dogs, dogs with cropped ears and animals carrying infectious diseases -which has its own implications for the UK’s biosecurity and public health.
This event came before the Second Reading of Selaine Saxby's Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill on the 15th March where Dr Hudson will reaffirm his support to close the loopholes exploited by immoral smugglers. You can watch the debate today via parliamentlive.tv.
Dr Hudson has worked closely with Dogs Trust throughout their puppy smuggling campaigning. For instance their Puppy Pilot scheme, introduced in 2015, to aid the interception of illegally imported puppies and provide care and rehabilitation for them until they find loving new homes. Since its inception, Dogs Trust has cared for over 3,100 illegally imported puppies, which, if sold to unsuspecting members of the public, would have made over £4.5 million for their illegal importers.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"Having campaigned on this issue for many years now alongside Conservative colleagues like Selaine and brilliant charities like Dogs Trust, I am delighted we are seeing resolute action to protect not just the puppies being immorally smuggled but also our nation's biosecurity and public health.
"As the only vet in the Commons I do take immense pride in implementing such worthy animal health and welfare improvement."
Claire Calder, Head of Public Affairs at Dogs Trust, said:
“We are delighted that so many MPs came down to our event to show their support for this important cause, and we hope that the loopholes that allow for this cruel trade to continue will soon be closed.
“We have been campaigning for over 10 years to end the suffering of countless numbers of dogs caught up in this abhorrent trade, and we hope that with the support of MPs from across Parliament, we can finally end puppy smuggling and take a real step forward for dog welfare in the UK."
