How can we stop puppy farmers?

Ok let's deal with one issue at a time - so rather than lump all unethical breeders together, let's start with puppy farmers - the lowest of the low!

• What can we do to stop this vile repugnant practise?
• How can we get laws passed that will prohibit mass breeding of puppies and kittens?
• At what point does a breeder become a puppy farmer?

What else shall we discuss? Shall we make it our mission to get something done?

the only thing i can come up with is a total ban on the advertising of said pups, that would mean targeting all media that partisipates and takes revenue from such advertisments, if there not out there, they are not selling them, but i cant see that happening to quickly.

A change of Law and harsh penalties is a start.

The province of BC is taking the first steps, imo. They are working towards a ban on puppies being sold in pet stores. That will make a huge dent in puppy mill profits if it is done country-wide (even better if it's done continent-wide, or world-wide... but that may be a bit ambitious!)

I think the best way to stop puppy-mills (or Puppy farms as you all call them) is to restrict the number of puppies an individual can produce. Responsible breeders rarely breed more than a couple of litters a year, so if individual people were restricted to 2 or possibly 3 litters a year, then that will effectively stop the Mill issue (with proper policing, of course!)

Education, education, education.....
Every piece of advice about buying a puppy needs to begin with a warning about puppy farmers. And the advice needs to be pretty blunt.

I wonder if more farmed pup's are sold via pet stores or the big 2 internet sites ..?

Stop allowing petshops to sell puppies and kittnes which closes down one of the puppy farmers main outlets .
Some councils do not allow the sale of puppies or kittens and the others should follow suit .

Being brutal - I don't think you can. You can raise awareness of proper breeders and rescues all you like - there's always going to be a group who don't pass homechecks for rescues, or haven't got the income to buy from a good breeder (I make no bones about it - we never would have the disposable income of that level spare - the house and car detect our bank balance and goes wrong accordingly) who can't get past the "want a dog and want one now" mentality and either go for a "free to good home" or "£50 to good home" card in the supermarket... or go to the local petshop and drop £50 for a cute fluffy puppy.

I don't think whatever you do - you're going to fully reach that section of society to be honest.

This would help but what about all those people who can't read and no, I am not joking

I thought it was already prohibited under bye laws, obviously I have not been to every town in the country, I am upset to find that pet shops still sell puppies & kittens.

Sadly I feel you are right, society is now divided into various levels, at the lower level the only thing which will impact them is government legislation and then you run into the 'I have my rights' mantra.

But Azz is right to raise the issue, if every one on Dogsey took the time to visit their local MP's surgery and plead with him / her to do something it might at least get it into the MP's field of view, at the moment I feel it is a 'forgotten' issue, most dog owners are NOT dog lovers so MP's don't care.

After recently reading a list of dogs up for rehoming from a well known rescue I was shocked at how many were ex-breeding bitches or stud dogs, most not very old even some puppies that were blind or needing cataract surgery that couldn't be sold on. I wonder how inbred some of the pups are.

None of them even know what a lead is or how to behave like a dog, it should be illegal to keep dogs under these conditions.

We should be writing to MP's and Ministers as well as educating the public, I can't believe that people are that stupid to buy puppies that are brought up in these poor conditions.