ROGUE dog breeders made Ireland Europe’s puppy farm capital, it is claimed. This country has become a huge exporter of designer dogs to more tightly regulated countries. Evil merchants are exploiting a lack of regulation to cash in on the soaring demand for rare breeds here and abroad.
Sinn Fein Senator Lynne Boylan warned: “Even beyond the impact of puppy farming on dogs . "The widespread use of cash for purchasing puppies facilitates tax evasion and potentially involves organised crime.” The politician has teamed up with law firm Fieldfisher to demand an overhaul of an industry that they say has morphed into a 'fast fashion' market, where any breeds are readily “available at the click of a button”.
Some dogs on the Irish market this week included four purebred Bernese Mountain pups going for €1,500, each in Limerick , Czechoslovakian Wolfdog puppies €1,500, each in Cork, and “top class” Poodle pups costing €1,200 in Cork. Six “Pomskies”, a new breed rising in demand, also hit the Irish market this week for €500 each. And tens of thousands of puppies are exported annually to the United Kingdom, according to the ISPCA, as the industry creeps towards a €200million-a-year behemoth.
A bill seeking to crack down on puppy factories is stuck before the Dail and hasn’t progressed in three years. Boylan said: “Government reviews haven’t resulted in much action besides the banning of ear cropping and the use of electric shock collars. “I am pleased .
