I suspect that a person has plans unethical breeding - what to do? [UK]

[geoff58]

Sorry if this is not the right place to ask this, but what can I do if I think someone is planning to breed a litter unethically`? In this case, UK legislation would apply, but any advice is appreciated. I'm not a breeder myself, just a concerned citizen.

The suspect in question hasn't yet done anything, but at the local park where he takes his dog he's been talking about plans of purposefully letting his bitch dog have a litter. The bitch is only 1 year old, and he's also said that he would like to give the puppies away early, already at 4 weeks. To me, this seems like obviously unethical, and might frankly be just the tip of an iceberg. I don't know the details, as the guy is just a random guy at a park who hasn't done anything yet. I just feel like it should be stopped before either the bitch or any puppies are put to harm. Other dog owners at the park have already told him how a 1-year-old bitch is too young for breeding and how an 8 weeks minimum selling age is important for the long-term health and socialization of puppies. But it's unclear if he changes his mind.

How would you go on about this? Scare him off with actual legislation? Wait until the puppies are born and then tip him off if needed? The guy isn't a licensed breeder and this would be the first litter, so any legislation about licensed breeders would (probably?) not apply. So do you know if the UK has laws about "hobby breeders" selling the puppies?

TL;DR A guy at a park has unethical plans for breeding puppies, but I'd like to be preemptive about it.

 

[definedbytruth]

@geoff58 That’s awful. There are a few problems.

Licensed Breeders are defined as:

-run a business that breeds and advertises dogs for sale

-breed 3 or more litters in a year and sell any of the puppies.

So he doesn’t need a licence. So that’s a dead end.

There isn’t much you can do other than report this cruelty to the pups. The laws are defined below.

Animal cruelty

Animal cruelty is when someone doesn’t care for or deliberately hurts an animal.

It can include anything from physical violence, to deliberate mental distress or neglect, for example not feeding or cleaning an animal.

If you see, or suspect, that a person may be treating an animal badly, whether this is physical violence, neglect or any other form of cruelty, you should report this to the RSPCA’s 24-hour cruelty line.

You can contact them on 0300 1234 999. The call will cost the same as any call to a UK landline number.

This is cruelty because there are laws around when you can sell a pup and it’s 8 weeks.

The law includes conditions that the breeders have to meet, and they cover how the health, behaviour and welfare of the puppies and their parents are protected, including:

Breeders can only sell puppies they have bred themselves, and only from the place the puppy was bred and reared.
Puppies must be 8 weeks old before they can be sold or leave their mum.
Puppies must be seen with their biological mum.
Breeders must be able to show they have used a ‘socialisation and habituation’ plan, which means they’ll have been gradually and positively introduced to a range of people and different household experiences and noises so that they’ll be happy and confident in their new homes.

The last few only apply to registers breeders (outlined above) but I would report this and see what happens.

 

[geoff58]

@definedbytruth Thanks for the advice! In that case this would indeed fall under the definition of Animal cruelty.

 

[frankda4th]

@definedbytruth This is great advice!

Just want to add another point: OP, do you know if he go the dog from a licensed breeder, or can you find out?

If he did, it's very likely that he has a contract that states that he CAN'T breed the dog. If you can find out who the breeder was, you can contact them and let them know what his plans are. If they're a reputable breeder, they'll take steps to take the dog back from him.

 

[frederic12]

@geoff58 As a breeder, I concur with the person who gave you the great advice above @flashwastaken