We support Lucy's Law - akita & husky
Lifestyle

We support Lucy’s Law!

This blog post may contain some upsetting images for some; this is not a nice topic but it is one that needs talking about, to raise awareness and bring some regulating that will inevitably in the future to this horrific act.

After the rather odd ending to the Feb 2017 attempt to ban the sale of dogs by people who didn’t breed them was declined. You may not have heard why this attempt ended so oddly but it is believed that at the last moment charities such as Dogs Trust and Blue Cross went direct to the decision makers to advise privately against it. Now while we do not know the full facts of this and may never do; as dogs lovers we find this notion mystifying. Which leads to now; PupAid’s founder Marc Abraham regrouping and leading the Lucy’s Law campaign.

We support Lucy's Law

Who was Lucy?

Lucy; a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was kept as a breeding bitch at a puppy farm for most of her life. After being rescued 2013 they aged her at around 4 – 5 years but you would think she was much older, and in terrible condition.

It was quite clear that Lucy had been caged for most of her life from her fused hips curved spine. This wasn’t the end of her horrifying condition; she had clearly been malnourished, chronic dry eyes, epilepsy and bald patches to her fur where she had been forced to lie in her own urine which inevitably burnt her fur and skin.

However after much love and attention she gained physical and a healthier condition although still left with anxieties from her ordeal. Her new furever home could tell she was a lot happier amongst other dogs and a cosy bed to curl up in at night. Unfortunately; Lucy passed away at the end of 2016 but her memory lives on in Lucy’s Law.

Lucy' Law

What is Lucy’s Law?

December 2017, a cross-party early day motion was bought in by three MP’s: Dr Lisa Cameron, SNP; Zac Goldsmith, Conservative & Caroline Lucas, Green Party leader. This law calls for the immediate and clear banning on the commercial reselling of dogs bred by others. It hopes that it should put an end to the profit motivation of puppy farming and trafficking that we so clearly need to stop.

Why do we need to ban the third party selling of canines?

One of the main reasons is to stop the unacceptable act of puppy farming, smuggling and irresponsible forms of dog breeding and selling. Most puppies in pet shops will come from puppy farm.

Puppy Farming

This is the high volume breeding of puppies with little regard for the dog’s or puppies welfare. Their main concern is profit; this results in puppies being taken away from the mother far to young and being left with many serious health conditions which can be incredibly costly, monetary wise and many die shortly after being sold to an unsuspecting family.

A lot of these people sell puppies through pet stores, newspaper articles and the internet, please ensure you see the mother with the puppy as this is one of the major signs that you are buying a farmed puppy.

The dogs are kept in sub standard cages for most of their life and essential just bred until they cannot any longer. The puppies are refused of basic husbandry and care needs such as: no routine health measures like worming or vaccinations.

It is hard for many people to see how big the problem actually is as your exposure to the problem at the moment in the UK is kind of swept under the carpet. To put it in perspective the RSPCA has had a rise in complaints about this black market selling of puppies; a rise of 132% in complaints. They have been combating these awful businesses for a decades and have even uncovered gangs making profits of £35’000 PER WEEK. This is a serious problem in the UK which need to come under scrutiny.

Puppy farming
Image from a puppy farm raid by the RSPCA, read the article at: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/puppy-farm-raid-rspca-police-3118851

Puppy smuggling

The number of puppies entering the UK on fake passports and illegally is rising at an alarming rate. Breeders and smugglers are acting against the current Pet Travel Scheme Rules, these puppies are then sold on to unsuspecting families who don’t know where the puppies have come from or the conditions they have been raised in.

Lastest pet rules state that puppies can travel between EU and approved non EU countries without a blood test but only after a 21 day wait after they have had a rabies vaccination. Puppies can have this vaccination at 12 week which means puppies must be at least 15 weeks to come into the UK.

This results in many underage dogs with fake passports being smuggling into the UK at the time when they are very small and cute; making them easier to sell.

There are many issues with this smuggling not only the horrible treatment of the puppies but also the risk to public health as the risk of rabies entering the UK increases.

Puppy Smuggling
Puppies taking in by the Dog’s Trust after they had been smuggled into the UK, read the article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/puppy-smuggling-investigation-dogs-trust_uk_596c9fbce4b017418628d54d

How can you help support Lucy’s Law?

  • Raise awareness on Social Media by taking a photo of or with your dog with a sign showing your support for #Lucy’s Law. Awareness is one of the most important things for any campaign so lets get it viral.
  • Write to your MP and ask them about supporting Lucy’s Law and signing the early motion to help get the law passed.

You can follow the campaign not only on Social Media but also on the campaign pages on the Daily Mirror’s dedicated site by clicking here. Will you support Lucy’s Law? WE DO!!

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