An influential committee of MPs has called on the government to take stronger action to regulate rogue elements within the pet breeding industry.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee is asking the government to address the fact that more than half of the puppies entering the market come from unlicensed breeders. The MPs are now calling for a list of licensed breeders to be made public, as well as a change in the licensing regulations so as to include breeders of two or more litters a year, in order to counter low welfare breeding practices and provide assurance to buyers.
The committee’s Pet Welfare and Abuse Inquiry report, published today (April 5), also revealed a huge rise in canine fertility clinics, from less than 40 in 2020, to more than 400 in 2023. Some of these clinics have benefitted from “diffuse enforcement arrangements”, allowing them to operate without veterinary involvement, with surgical procedures, including caesarean sections, performed unlawfully by lay-persons, the report stated.
The committee maintained that these clinics are helping to “normalise” reproductive dysfunction in popular dog breeds and links the rise in their numbers to the increased demand for ‘designer’ dogs bred with extreme characteristics, fuelled by the influence of social media and celebrities. Some canine fertility clinics openly promote their ability to breed from aggressive dogs, it added.
The EFRA Committee is urging the government to make it a priority to introduce legislation to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and to include canine fertility clinics, pointing out that the existing £100 fine for illegal veterinary surgery, dating from the 1966 Act, “is a derisory deterrent”.
The inquiry heard that there has also been a trend for the breeding of ‘designer’ cats and that cat welfare and cat breeding is unregulated and needs to be brought under the same legislative safeguards awarded to dogs.
Today’s report also describes the committee’s findings on the practices of ear-cropping and cosmetic tail-docking in dogs and declawing in cats. These “ethically abhorrent” procedures are illegal in Britain, but the committee found that a legal loophole allows the importation of animals that have been mutilated.
The report calls on the government to close this loophole as a matter of urgency also for legislation to end the sale in Britain of DIY kits to perform ear-cropping on dogs. The MPs also call on the government to launch a public information campaign to raise awareness of the harms of ‘designer’ pets and to discourage the trend.
Committee chair Sir Robert Goodwill said: “As a nation of animal and pet lovers, we place a high importance on the welfare of animals. But some of the regulations that cover the breeding of pet dogs rely on legislation dating back to 1966 and the breeding of cats is almost completely unregulated.
“We are concerned about the huge rise in the number of canine fertility clinics and the lack of regulatory oversight of these clinics, which may employ unqualified staff to perform veterinary procedures, and which may encourage the breeding of dogs with extreme features and dogs bred for aggressive traits.
“We also urge the government to address the funding and resource needs of local authorities to enforce regulations, to ensure that unscrupulous actors do not become emboldened to think they can act with impunity. Along with this, we call for greater clarity over where the enforcement and accountability responsibilities lie and for planning for training for inspectors and greater co-ordination and co-operation amongst the statutory bodies.”
The Pets at Home group welcomed the committee’s report.
Head of Clinical Services Dr Samantha Butler-Davies said: “Pets at Home and Vets for Pets welcome today’s EFRA Committee report and we strongly support the recommendations to tackle unlicensed and irresponsible breeding practices of dogs and cats.
“Robust education resources for prospective pet owners, to help them make welfare-first decisions, is paramount. As we advised when providing expert evidence to the committee, our veterinary colleagues and partners see the impact of unlicensed fertility clinics as well as legal loopholes which allow importations of cats and dogs that have suffered cosmetic mutilations – such as cropped ears and claw removal – every day in their practices and more support must be made available.
“We are also supportive of the recommendations to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act. This law was passed in the 1960s and needs modernisation. For the sake of pets up and down the country, we hope the government considers these proposed reforms with a matter of urgency.”
