The Social Implications of Improved Animal Welfare 45response, with 40% of purchasers doing less than a week’s research in one poll.^1
The explosion in the use of websites to sell dogs (Gumtree recording a 785%
increase in the number of dogs being listed on their site in Great Britain in the
past decade) has facilitated large-scale illegal puppy dealing. Of calls the RSPCA
receives on animal welfare issues related to the puppy trade, 87% relate to the
puppy being bought online.
The illegal puppy trade is an issue that crosses over from animal welfare
into other areas such as consumer protection and fraud. This is because the illegal
import and sale of
puppies is big business.
Dealers prosecuted by
the RSPCA have been
earning around £35,000
a week, or annually
near £2 million. Dealers
will cross from other
illegal activities – such
as drugs – to puppies,
knowing the financial
rewards are similar
while the penalties are
much reduced.
Consumer protection agencies are now starting to look at the fraudulent use of
documentation such as vaccination and breeding certificates. Generally, puppy
traders and dealers deal
in cash only, with no
paper trail. This increases
the potential for large-
scale fraud and results
in the loss of large
amounts of income to
HM Revenue & Customs
(HMRC), estimated to
extend to tens of millions
of pounds annually.
The RSPCA works
closely with HMRC to
recover undeclared in-
come, and now more
frequently undertakes prosecutions on large-scale puppy dealers under the
Proceeds of Crime Act, 2002, and the Fraud Act, 2006, rather than the Animal
Welfare Act, 2006. Not only are sentences more severe under the first two Acts,
but they also capture the puppy trade as an issue of major crime and loss of in-
come rather than purely an animal welfare problem.
While much is shared about animal welfare issues in the illegal puppy trade,
which inevitably leads to the loss of a family pet within days of collection, there
Case Study 11. Continued.
Continued