Help stop puppy farming in Wales

Below are extracts from a message we've received from the campaign to stop grants for puppy farming in Wales. Please do all you can to support this campaign. The section about writing letters to "your Assembly Minister" really only applies to people living in Wales - but anyone can write to their local newspaper or sign the on-line petition.

The campaign to stop the Welsh Assembly Government giving financial grants to farmers enabling them to build kennels for the purposes of breeding puppies has been moving forward.

The petition, which currently has over 7,000 signatures (online at http://www.ethical-business.com/?sect=detail&pet=619 and paper copies), was handed in to Carwyn Jones, the Minister for Rural Affairs, at 10am on Tuesday 23rd September.

A peaceful demonstration was held outside the Welsh Assembly Governmentbuilding in Cardiff Bay, to coincide with the petition being handed in.

We need to move this topic into the forefront of the minds of as many people as possible - we can do this by contacting our Assembly Members and the local and national press.

There has already been a fair amount of media coverage of this campaign - thank you to everyone who has been writing to their local and national papers! There is still time to write to the letters page of your local paper or favourite magazine expressing your feelings about these grants. If your letter is published please do let me know, and if possible email me (info@saynotopuppyfarms.org.uk ) a scanned copy or web link so that I can include it in the media reports section of the web site.

Now would also be an excellent time to write another letter to your Assembly Minister (you can find out who the AM for your area is at this link: http://www.wales.gov.uk/who/constit_e.htm). You should write your own letter expressing your own feelings on the subject and asking your AM, as your elected representative, to raise this issue in debate on your behalf. Even if you have already written once, another letter will reinforce the strength of your feelings. The following AM's are supporting our campaign: William Graham, Brynle Williams, Nick Bourne, John Griffiths,and Rhodri Glyn Thomas. Do not bother writing to Tim Cosgrove as you will receive only the standard Assembly reply, although you might like to send an additional copy of your letter to Assembly Minister Carwyn Jones...

When you compose your letter, you might like to consider some of the points brought out by the NCDL 2002 survey on the UK stray dog population:

12,900 stray dogs were destroyed by local authorities - 11% of the 117,500 stray dog population. This figure does not include dogs destroyed by other organisations. It also does not include dogs that are taken to a vet by their owners to be destroyed or those that are simply thrown out and are then killed on Britain's roads before they have a chance to be rescued, nor does the survey total include the figures for Northern Ireland - which destroys almost 50% of
their stray dogs.

The survey was sent to 432 local authorities, of which 239 responded (55%) and the results were unweighted. Is it possible that those authorities that did not respond, chose not to because they did not want to admit that they actually destroyed a larger than average number of dogs? It is entirely possible, therefore, that if you take into account the known figures for local authority destructions, other organisation destructions, destructions by veterinary surgeons for non-medical reasons, and stray dogs killed on the roads, the true figure of the number of dogs destroyed in the UK each year is very much higher than the official estimate given in the NCDL survey.

Taking the figures from the 2002 NCDL survey, there is one stray dog for every 506 people, and each stray dog costs the local authority £230.These figures indicate that, even ignoring the fact that Wales has a higher than average stray dog population, for a population of 2.9 million people, stray dogs cost the local authorities of Wales £1.3 million each year.

Other points to consider:

In addition to the cost to the local authorities for dealing with this problem, have the Welsh Assembly Government considered the inevitable effect
that these grants will have on independent dog rescues and sanctuaries around the UK, and especially in Wales? Increased numbers of puppies bred in Wales will eventually result in increased numbers of dogs and puppies in rescues.

How much money does the Welsh Assembly Government spend/donate each year to help tackle the stray dog problem proactively instead of reactively?

Do the Assembly give financial assistance to local authorities and other dog rescue organisations to provide low cost neutering and microchipping schemes?

Do the Assembly give financial grants for capital building projects to dog rescue organisations?

Do the Assembly give financial grants or tax breaks for staff salary costs for dog rescue organisations?

How many public education campaigns on responsible dog ownership (excluding dog fouling) have the Welsh Assembly Government created or financially supported?

How many dog training and socialisation classes, have been Welsh AssemblyGovernment supported?

Remember that, even though a litter of puppies may be Kennel Club registered, this is no guarantee that they have not been raised on a puppyfarm.

Raising a puppy that is going to live with your family requires a far different approach to that used for rearing an animal destined for the meatmarket!

The RSPCA has recently seen a huge resurgence of illegal puppy farms in rural Wales. Will the apparent encouragement by the Welsh Assembly for farmers to regard a puppy as commercial livestock, by giving these grants, help stamp out these illegal puppy farms? Or would the Assembly money be better spent on educating the public to treat all companion animals with the respect and care they deserve and on how people can be responsible owners by neutering and microchipping their pets?

These are just a few ideas, hopefully you will be able to come up with many more of your own. Whatever, you do, please continue to support the campaign and publicise it as far and as wide as possible. The campaign web site is at http://www.saynotopuppyfarms.org.uk - please include the address wherever
possible.

Thank you for your support - on behalf of the animals who cannot speak for themselves.

Karen