The Pet Charity agrees with the sentiments expressed in Parliament on September 4 – that it is not a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops.

Whilst the debate did fail to pin down just how many puppies and kittens come from the 2% of “high street pet shops” licensed to sell puppies and/or kittens, what did emerge were the issues The Pet Charity had previously highlighted:

• The need to tighten the Pet Travel Scheme. The Pet Charity suggests stricter enforcement of border control to stop the huge rise in these animals being imported from across Europe². From December 2014, the Minister announced that amendments will come into force to increase the age at which a puppy can be vaccinated prior to travel, effectively stopping all younger than 15 weeks old; a welcome change.

• Endorsement of the (currently) voluntary guidelines to limit advertising of pets for sale on the internet. The Pet Advertising Advisory Group has worked to put voluntary guidelines in place with regards to advertising pets for sale via the internet, which has successfully resulted in around 100,000 pet adverts being removed.

• Clarification that anyone breeding dogs for sale, irrespective of the number of litters, must be licensed. The Breeding and Sale of Dogs Act (1999) has been widely misinterpreted that only persons breeding more than five litters per year must have a licence; the Minister clarified that anyone breeding as a business (i.e. selling the puppies) requires a licence.

• The existing legislation already allows local authorities to restrict animal types for sale within a pet shop premises if the facilities are not adequate for a particular taxa. The Pet Charity called for an improved resourcing model to allow local authorities to complete more thorough pet shop inspections. Alongside this, more training should be offered to help local authorities make decisions on a case-by-case basis using the existing Model License Conditions.

Further, George Eustace, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister, noted that the Model Licence Conditions and the Model Conditions for Pet Vending both cover the important issues surrounding socialisation. The Pet Charity would encourage all outlets for animals whether inspected or not to adopt these standards.

However, on one issue there is overwhelming agreement from MPs and charities; the public needs better advice to avoid being ‘duped’ into buying a ‘farmed’ puppy. Below is The Pet Charity’s Charter to guide the public in taking on the responsibility of a dog:

The Pet Charity will campaign to put this charter out into the public domain to raise awareness of these six simple checks that will help guide anyone acquiring a puppy. We seek collaboration from all the welfare charities to ensure that pet owners meet equal standards from all outlets and have this consistent message to guide them during what should be a most happy and joyful experience of bringing a dog into their family.