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Charity welcomes new puppy trade recommendations
The puppy trade recommendations were made at Scotland's first K9 Conference.
Scotland to take collaborative approach on illegal importation

A leading charity has welcomed new recommendations made by the Scottish government to tackle the illegal puppy trade.

Dogs Trust veterinary director Paula Boyden said that the recommendations could lay the groundwork for a clampdown on puppy farming - an industry that brings thousands of dogs into the country every year.  

In a statement, she writes: ‘We urge the Government to improve failing pet travel legislation when the UK leaves the EU. We must increase penalties for those illegally importing puppies, carry out a significant overhaul of the pet checking system at ports and reduce the number of dogs a person can travel with.

‘We were pleased to see some of these recommendations included in the Scottish Government’s research and we urge them to push forward with these without delay.’

The recommendations were made at Scotland’s first K9 Conference, which set out to examine the impact of puppy farming on animals’ health and behaviour. Organised by the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish SPCA, the event brought together experts from across the UK and Ireland.

Opening the conference, Scottish cabinet secretary Roseanna Cunningham said that that a collaborative approach to enforcement is welcome. In her speech, she stressed that the Scottish government takes animal welfare "extremely seriously" and is "determined to crack down on animal traffickers."

“As outlined in the Programme for Government, we will work with charities and enforcement agencies to take forward the recommendations on illegal importation and sale from 'puppy farms’," she said.

During the conference, Dr Jo Williams from the University’s School of Health in Social Science presented findings from a joint research project with the Scottish SPCA.

Dr Williams said: “Our research has proven that dogs from puppy farms have more behavioural issues and are more likely to have medical conditions impacting their long-term health compared with dogs from other breeding backgrounds.”

Scottish SPCA’s head of education & policy, Gilly Mendes Ferreira, added that puppy farming is a key focus for their special investigations unit. The charity works with partners across the UK and Ireland to identify people involved.

“The conference and the research is a further step forwards working together to create a robust strategy to tackle this serious issue,” she said.

Other speakers included Mark Rafferty, chief inspector of the Scottish SPCA Special Investigations Unit; Dr Paula Boyden, veterinary director at Dogs Trust and Graeme Mutter, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) taskforce project lead.

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.