Thinking about buying a puppy from the paper???

The following piece is an extract taken from

http://www.carn-age.org.uk/pets.html


What had been a cottage industry now became a worldwide multi-million pound business attracting middlemen - the dealers who saw a golden opportunity to get rich. Dogs, the breeding machines, were kept in rusting machines, tea chests, oil drums, sheds, caravans and barns that once housed cattle.

With rare exceptions these animals had a poor diet of bread and milk, no exercise and no veterinary treatment. Whilst most such breeding establishments were to be found on dairy farms, some turned up in unexpected places. One in a village called Capel Iwan in Cardiganshire was a modern bungalow. In the garage, against the rear and two side walls, tea chests were piled one on top of the other from floor to ceiling. Each chest had a door with a 1" gap at the top. Inside was a breeding bitch. The door to the garage was only opened when the animals were fed and cleaned out. When the door was closed, inside was pitch black.

Regulatory bodies have tried to control this industry to little effect.

West Wales became notorious throughout the world as the epicentre of puppy farming. Puppies were supplied to dealers in the rest of the UK and were exported across the world from Europe to the Far East, to countries where the eating of dogs is common. Dealers and vets alike were only too happy to send puppies to countries like Korea and the Philippines. At the height of this trade in misery there were an estimated three to four hundred puppy farms in West Wales.


Every known breed of dog can be found on these farms, including up to a few years ago beagles destined for vivisection labs. Most common are the small breeds, presumably because you can pack more of them in and they are cheaper to feed. Business is carried out in laybys and car parks, where several breeders will arrange to meet the dealer. The dealer will then transport his cargo to pet shops or a pet supermarket in England. As well as selling on, some dealers sell through newspapers, as do some puppy farmers.

They use regional papers, Exchange & Mart, and free ads papers.
When an animal becomes uneconomic, perhaps too old to produce more litters, they are usually disposed of on the farm, clubbed, shot or drowned.
Others are abandoned on the hills or chucked out of cars.