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IRELAND IS THE “puppy farm capital of Europe” with illegal dog breeding taking place on an industrial scale.
While there are 895 registered puppy farms in Britain producing around 70,000 puppies a year – official figures show there are 73 registered puppy farms in the Republic of Ireland producing at least 30,000 dogs a year.
On average, that’s 410 puppies for every registered puppy farm in Ireland compared to 78 per farm in Britain.
Welfare organisations are warning that some farms have more than 500 breeding bitches. The DSCPA said it should be limited to 10 or fewer.
In some cases, people have no idea that they are buying from a puppy farm when they buy their dog.
One couple told TheJournal.ie that they bought their dog with the best of intentions and only considered afterwards that the owners did not live in the house where they collected the dog from.
Suspicions were raised when friends of theirs noticed the same address being used when they were looking to buy a dog of a different breed.
Of the 150 puppies seized at Irish ports over the past two months, most were so-called “designer breeds” such as Beagles, Bichon Frises, French Bulldogs or King Charles Spaniels.
Many puppies are sold online for a quick profit and often raised without proper care, love or attention and sold to unsuitable households. The ISPCA warn that:
These animals often end up being unwanted, abandoned and destroyed each year – due to behavioural issues or simply because they are just not the right type of puppy or dog for the family.
“If you decide to buy a puppy online, check the website complies with IPAAG Minimum Standards.”
How to make sure you don’t buy your dog from an illegal farm
The ISPCA recommends asking a local vet if they know any reputable breeders or to contact the Irish Kennel Club for advice.
“They will be able to point you in the right direction for the breed you are looking for, from maltese or shih tzu to labradors and beyond.”
Once you have found a dog that has a temperament and requirements that are suitable for your lifestyle and environment, the Irish Pet Advertising Advisory Group (IPAAG) has the following advice:
It added that if you are looking for a specific breed, the Irish Kennel Club can also direct you to breed rescue organisations.
The ISPCA also recommends contacting your local animal rescue centre.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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Good advice but what about getting a dog from a dog pound? Surly that would help more.
Exactly. The headline should read “don’t buy from a puppy farm, legal or illegal”
Dogs are being put down in pounds all around the country because of people’s selfishness and circumstance. Give these dogs a home.
If more people adopted a dog from their local pound/shelter it would go a long way in putting these puppy farms out of business!
@Amor: That’s all well and good if they have puppies at the local pound. If you want a dog and have young kids you have to get a puppy rather than an adult dog for obvious training and character/history reasons. I recently looked at pounds everywhere for suitable puppies..or any puppies and couldn’t find any. I got one locally from a guy up the road who had bred a litter of JRT..and paid for the puppy. Anyone who looks for a dog has to see the litter with their parents at the house where they were bred and the people that bred them. You can assess the temperament, nature and quality of the dog from its parents generally. Puppy farms exist because of naivety of first time dog owners in parting with cash for a cuddly bundle to take home to the kids, and which will wreck the house before trying to eat the kids and then dying of disease or put down when they get the first vets bill.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: I volunteered at the DSPCA and they get puppies every year at certain times of the year so definitely worth checking first. Also if you’re absolutely obsessed with getting a pedigree for some reason they get pedigrees too sometimes that have been abandoned. If you want a family pet, there is no reason whatsoever to purchase one online. Besides, it’s way more rewarding to give a rescue dog a home than to pay 500 quid for a puppy whose Mother may be suffering on a puppy farm. Also, some older rescue dogs are brilliant with children, so don’t discount them if you have young kids. The people at the shelter will be familiar with what dogs are best for those with young kids.
Dogs Trust nearly always have puppies. As someone who supports and also follows many rescues most have puppies that are crying out for homes. Many adult dogs are fantastic with children and sighthounds make amazing family pets and usually adore kids.
@patrick Completely disagree. An amazing family dog, who is wonderful with children, can be found at a pound or shelter. They can also be trained with time and effort, just like a puppy. I know this from my own experience.
Get a mongrel from the pound. It will have character and you’ll feel good
Don’t buy one out of the back of a van
Dogs need regular exercise. If you’re not prepared to get off your fat arse to walk one, don’t get a dog.
There are so many animal rescue centres in Ireland that have hundreds of dogs available for adoption, at a fraction of the cost.
Puppy farming should be illegal. Irish county councils need to grow a backbone & ban any establishment with over 20 dogs.
I know two reasons ,large fines and lock these people up,simple!!
Dublin Husky Rescue contact them on Facebook. If you are looking for a husky
But are they fully grown huskies? I want a puppy so I can take loads of Instagrammable photos. Once it grows up I’m not interested. Yours sincerely The average Irish husky owner
@The Guru: if that’s your attitude you don’t deserve a husky, they all grow don’t you know
Until there is serious repercussions for these illigal breeders the likes if who have been caught lately exporting these animals. Custodial sentences and confiscation of their vehicles should be informed.
Should be enforced.
Diathe de Roiste I find your comment very ill-informed. Yes, it would be very nice to ensure all the puppy farmers are caught by revenue if they are not paying tax on their sometimes substantial income (and I’m sure a lot of the trading is done in cash). The main point, which seems to have gone over your head, is an animal welfare one. Not only the poorly-bred, often ill, unvaccinated, undocumented, untraceable, unsocialised puppies coming out of these places but also the parents stuck in these places for the whole of their lives with little human interaction, in a lot of cases untreated medical problems, dirty, ungroomed, underfed, under watered producing litter after litter until their broken bodies are of no further use. Do some research and enlighten yourself!
Just go to a shelter, and stop being a pretentious poser.
Or just adopt a dog from one of the many completely overwhelmed rescues left picking up the pieces from this mass cruelty and our useless animal welfare legislation. Rescues have every breed and type of dog you could possibly want. There is no reason to ever buy a dog. If you want a dog make sure it’s for the right reasons not because you think it’s cute or your kids are nagging you for one. Remember you are the adult, your the one who will be cleaning up after it and walking it. They need company and a warm bed in the house not stuck outside alone all day. They cost money to kennel if you don’t have someone to look after it when you go away. They get sick and need expensive vet treatment. They will rely on you for everything and you will become their world. Only get a dog if you are going to treat is as a full family member thar you will care for its entire life. It’s sickening how many people dump old dogs because they need more care. If the demand isn’t there then the puppy farms will not be a viable business so don’t support them in their vile treatment of dogs.
These puppy farmers should be all shot in the face!
Always Rescue…..
I hope those concerned with animal welfare (I’m not one of them) can see the hypocrisy of “rescuing” dogs from their unlicensed owners.
One of the worst things that can happen to a dog is the Russian roulette game that is the dog pound. All of them caged until the real rescue hopefully comes. A 2 in 3 chance or thereabouts. 1 in 3 will be killed.
Dogs are better off not being rescued from illegal dog owners. Generally speaking of course.
Now red thumb me to the bottom of the journal, where the bitter truth goes.
George, if you are not animal lover, how can you possibly know what is the worst or best option for a dog? I find your comment useless to say the least. If you are not interested in animal welfare why do you even make an effort to comment?
@Jolanta: We don’t need to love an animal in order to know what’s good or bad for it.
Great White sharks shouldn’t be captured for the purpose of keeping them in captivity for example… they don’t survive that long in enclosures. We don’t need to love Great Whites to know this.
It’s great to see so many people recommending rescue dogs.
Adopting a dog is one of the most rewarding things you could ever do. I adopted my dog and I swore after that I would never pay for any pet ever again. She’s the most lovable loyal little dog I’ve ever met. She’s incredibly well behaved even though she was at least 2 when I rescued her. This idea that you must have a pup to have a well behaved dog is silly. Any dog can be trained and I’ll tell you as a former vet nurse it’s way easier to train an older dog than a pup. If you can’t manage an adult you won’t be able to manage a hyper active puppy. Rescues are packed full of lovely dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages. There’s no excuse for buying a dog when we as a country kill thousands of unwanted ones every year. Reputable rescues will evaluate every dog in their care so potential owners will get a dog that fits with their lifestyle.
I got a puppy off a couple in carlow two years ago, a beautiful jack Russel pug cross. From the day we got him there was something off, he slept all the time, didn’t eat and had diarrhea constantly. After 3 days of worrying we brought him to the vets, where he stayed for the next 4 days till he passed away, he could fit in the palm of my hand, I cried for two days straight and blamed myself. It was only after that I looked back at how and where I bought him that red flags begun to pop up. I saw neither the mother or the 8 other supposed pups from the litter, the house we collected him from did not look like one filled with dogs and I did not receive any papers. It was my first time ever getting a puppy and I think I was very naive. Not long after that massive puppy farm in carlow was discovered. I have a wonderful, healthy and happy white German shepard now but that poor puppy still sits in the back of my mind
Even a legal -licenced- puppy farm won’t show you the mother..so the main point is, if you want to buy a puppy and not adopt one from a shelter/pound/rescue, then please make sure you see the mother of the pup..
Don’t buy at all is the answer! There are thousands of dogs and cats in need of rescue. Puppy farms are a totally unnecessary evil.
So long as @agriculture_ie fail to uphold even the most basic animal welfare standards, nobody should buy a dog in Ireland. we have all seen what is deemed legal and acceptable in puppy farms here (that hellhole run by the Cullivan family in Cavan springs to mind…)our reputation as the country that mills out sickly, expensive puppies is deserved. Department of Agriculture and county councils don’t care. Its a matter of national shame …
“Produce”
It’s just scare mongering so you don’t avoid paying tax! A load of bull!
Just don’t buy pups. Adopt them from shelters instead.
What about facebook? A haven for puppy farmers to sell to idiots who don’t care where the puppies come from because they are too selfish to care! Should be illegal to sell on facebook etc!
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