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Long awaited legislation outlaws puppy farming in Ireland

Authorities now have power to shut down breeders

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, January 2, 2012, 6:50 AM

Updated Tuesday, January 3, 2012, 11:40 AM

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Photo of a puppy farm in Ireland

Photo by Google Images

Puppy farming has been outlawed in Ireland – with harsh penalties now imposed on anyone who breaks the country’s new laws.

Legislation banning puppy farms came into effect on New Year’s Day as the government looks to clean up the country’s act.

The move comes after Ireland became known as the Puppy Farm of Europe.

Campaigners have fought for years to protect puppies from unscrupulous breeders.

Now two laws - the Welfare of Greyhounds Act and the Dogs Breeding Establishments Act - have been introduced to control dog breeding and force breeders to look after their animals properly.

The new anti-puppy farming legislation makes it impossible to produce hundreds of puppies in grim conditions.

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Local authority vets also have the right and obligation to inspect all breeding locations.

They can immediately shut down any kennels where animals are not being properly cared for.

All Irish puppies will be micro-chipped and can now be traced back to the breeder.

Breeders will be allowed to keep large numbers of animals, but only under strict conditions and standards set down by the new regulations.

All breeders must also be registered with their local authority to comply with the new rules.

Police have encountered several harrowing cases in recent times.

Last autumn, a Midlands owner escaped charges after a raid on a puppy farm where 50 dogs were rescued from ‘filthy and overcrowded’ kennels. Officers described the premises as ‘deplorable’.

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| Jan 05, 2012, 03:22 PM EST

I say it's high time, and I wish we had this same law in the US...I cannot bear to think of all the animals that are used as lab experiments, dog fighting rings, and just abandoned and mistreated....I pray that in my lifetime it all stops. Breeders should only be allowed to create as many animals as they can prove there are responsible, loving homes for BEFORE the mother animal is bred.

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ciaradexy | Jan 05, 2012, 12:23 PM EST

Theres also the DSPCA in Dublin Lausane who take in more dogs than the pound but they do not euthanize them if they dont get housed.

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Lausane | Jan 04, 2012, 08:47 PM EST

I should have added in my last post that we are very disappointed that our new President has opted to buy a puppy from a breeder, instead of taking a rescue pup or dog from one of the several local dog sanctuaries that are within a stone's throw of his residence!! Dublin's one and only dog pound, Ashton Pound, which is always busting at the seams with stray and abandoned dogs, literally dying for want of a new home, is a five minute drive from the President's residence in the park. President Higgins, you have a big house and garden there in the Pheonix Park-get yourself over to the pound and get a couple of nice mutts to liven up the place! He should be setting an example by taking a rescue dog- not buying from a breeder!!

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ciaradexy | Jan 04, 2012, 07:33 PM EST

Arent you glad youre not Irish so Georgie!

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MaureenPowell | Jan 04, 2012, 05:04 AM EST

It is high time that this legislation,has been passed in Ireland.This legislation should be mandatory in every country,because,puppy farming,and animal abuse is a world wide practice.Puppy farmers are in this business purely to make money.No care or regard or veterinary treatment is deemed necessary by these cruel and explotive people.The female dogs are breeding machines,and when they are no longer able to breed,usually do to lack of care,they are discarded like an old sock.I am an Australian and puppy farming also happens here.

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sharon51179 | Jan 03, 2012, 10:16 PM EST

i am delighted that ireland has chosen to end this practice, but i am still waiting for the dog LENNOX to go home to his 7 year old friend! he has been jailed for over 1 year now , and he was dna tested and is not a pitbull, so what is preventing him from being released?

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merefalow | Jan 03, 2012, 04:31 PM EST

not before time,wicked/ immoral/ money driven exploitive/ cruel,a stain on our nation and people,should be no room in ireland for enterprises of this nature,end it ,

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GeorgeDillon | Jan 03, 2012, 02:00 PM EST

The Irish have an atrocious record with regard to animal abuse. I was just reading the online Irish Independent and it was talking about a "farmer" who left a donkey tied up and standing in its own excrement. It got no food or drink for days. When it finally went down it was trod on by a herd of cattle. Mercifully, the donkey has died. I could write a book about the cruelties doled out to horses in Ireland. The idiot Bono a few years ago lent his name to a campaign to allow children and teenagers in suburban communities to keep horses. Of course then he went off to his yacht on the Cote d'Azur and forgot about the horses. But now the authorities in Ireland are overrun by cases of neglect of those same horses. Some cases are simply that the owners have no money to feed their horses. Other cases show the dirty dark side of Ireland, despicable cruelties to defenseless animals. You see, there is a pattern in Ireland--abuse of children sprang from the same society where abuse of animals was endemic.

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Ornerygreeneyes | Jan 03, 2012, 08:15 AM EST

We need that kind of law here in the USA but I fear the majority of pet stores would shut down any thing like that since it keeps them in cheap animals to sell at high price. So we just battle them one at a time, one shuts down and they just move somewhere else. breaks my heart.

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ciaradexy | Jan 02, 2012, 05:29 PM EST

Didnt hear anything about this at all but Im delighted that all the campaigning has finally paid off!

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mayoman | Jan 02, 2012, 02:32 PM EST

This very needed and welcomed bill is a victory for compassion and sanity. Let's just hope that its vigorously enforced.

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cuddlybuddly | Jan 02, 2012, 02:10 PM EST

Filled with grief, sadness and shock at how this outrageous situation is allowed...heart goes out to all the animals that have suffered in these deplorable places for profit...a life is held in such low esteem..I just die with each outrage..so be it

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Skibberrean | Jan 02, 2012, 10:42 AM EST

I can never understand the abuse of an animal. The first thing a child is given as a toy is a stuffed animal because it is soft and cuddly. The respect love and care for an animal should start in the home from infancy through the age of reason and beyond. Puppy mills, farms whatever you choose to call them are a disgrace and should be banned worldwide. I guess it should not be too shocking as there is little if any respect for human life let alone a dogs! This world of ours is a very sad place and we all need to start changing it for the better.

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pugsmom | Jan 02, 2012, 09:48 AM EST

It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would want to treat dogs in such a heinous, contemptible manner! Where are peoples' compassion and common sense? Now, find all these poor pups kind, loving homes and do NOT just take them out and "euthanize" them for the sake of "convenience," and for God's sake please don't let them end up in lab experiments and dog fighting circles!

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