Dogs Trust Ireland is urging the public to sign a petition to eradicate puppy farming in Ireland.
This year alone, the charity cared for 130 victims of illegal puppy farming. The dogs suffered from matted coats, caked in their own excrement, overgrown nails, dental disease, ear infections, skin infections and were described by the charity’s veterinary and behaviour teams as ‘terrified’ of human contact. So bad was the condition of the dogs’ coats, many had to be shaved upon arrival.
Speaking about the campaign, Executive Director, Dogs Trust Ireland, Becky Bristow said:
While the term ‘puppy farm’ may conjure images of fluffy puppies roaming free, nothing could be further from the truth. The condition of the dogs we took in was appalling. Their physical neglect and the pain many of them were in was shocking enough but their sheer terror and avoidance of humans is something that will stay with our team forever.
Puppy farming worsened in Pandemic
Head of Communications, Dogs Trust Ireland, Ciara Byrne continued, “sadly, the pandemic has been a puppy farmer’s dream come true. The massive demand for dogs, especially ‘designer crossbreeds, saw dogs advertised online at huge prices, meaning huge profits for many unscrupulous, greedy breeders."
Dogs Trust Ireland is pleading with people who buy puppies to source them responsibly, as failure to get them from a reputable source is supporting puppy farming. The charity added that these farms are also creating lives of misery for the parents, especially the mums who "churn out litter after litter from dark, squalid little pens.”
Dogs Trust is urging the public to sign their petition through this link here, to help end the misery and suffering caused by puppy farming in Ireland.
Find Dogs Trust on Facebook, and Instagram or follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #EndPuppyFarming.
About Dogs Trust Ireland
Dogs Trust has been working in Ireland since 2005 and its mission is to bring an end to the destruction of stray and abandoned dogs through a national responsible dog ownership campaign, including a nationwide education programme.
