Puppy farming - Cruelty is unacceptable

THERE have been harrowing court cases where dreadful cruelty on some puppy farms has been exposed.

As if that was not enough a great proportion of the 15,000 dogs destroyed at various local authority pounds last year came from puppy farms. None of this would happen if people recognised that owning a dog, or any pet, caries a responsibility that may not always be convenient, especially at holiday time.

Puppy farms have more to do with industrialised farming than they have to do with breeding the occasional litter to satisfy personal needs. Puppy farms need to be regulated but any legislation cannot be used as a back-door method to curtail legitimate and caring breeders.