There is little consideration for animals in Health and Welfare Act

The continuing prevalence of underground puppy farming in Ireland shows how weak our animal welfare legislation is, despite assurances and pledges from Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney that the Animal Health and Welfare Act he signed into law would eliminate cruel practices and update our treatment of non human sentient beings.

Ireland continues to be the de facto puppy farm capital of Europe, with unscrupulous operators to whom profit is paramount and animal welfare a minor consideration or irrelevance. These operators exploit loop holes in the legislation and a perceived lack of enforcement of the regulations governing dog breeding facilities.

Owing to the poor breeding conditions in those establishments the dogs suffer respiratory ailments, pneumonia, and a variety of hereditary defects in addition to temperament problems with humans or other dogs resulting from the cramped, heartless environment in which they were confined prior to sale.