In puppy mills, dogs go through unimaginable pain. They are forced to live in filthy places while giving birth to puppies, and they rarely get medical care, let alone affection from people.
Breeders who only care about making money and not about the dogs’ well-being haven’t had a hard time hiding how ugly the dogs are from potential buyers. But that might change in England, where new rules are being considered. The government is thinking about putting a stop to the sale of puppies in pet stores and by other third-party dealers. This could help a lot of dogs who are in bad shape.
Under the new reforms, breeders would need licenses and could only sell puppies they had bred themselves. This is part of a set of new rules meant to improve the welfare of dogs being bred and sold as pets. They also couldn’t sell puppies and kittens younger than eight weeks.
Also, people who want to buy or adopt a dog would deal directly with a breeder or a center for re-homing animals. New owners would have to be there in person to buy, and puppies would have to be shown to their mothers before they could be sold.
Organizations like Dogs Trust think that these rules are a great way to keep breeders and sellers on the radar of local authorities. This is better than just banning sales through third parties, which could lead to an illegal market.
“We have always said that an end to third-party sales alone would not be enough to end the puppy trade crisis, and we are pleased that this is being looked at alongside enhanced licensing conditions for breeders,” said RSPCA deputy chief executive Chris Wainwright.
Let’s hope that these new rules are put into place. They would make it a lot harder for puppy mills to make money. They would also give mother dogs a chance to find the loving homes they deserve.
(via BBC, Viral Nova)
