Kennel Club Welcomes Ealing Council’s Decision To Refuse Increase In Pet Shop Licence

The Kennel Club is delighted that, following strong objection, a request to increase the number of puppies sold in an Ealing pet shop under the terms of its licence was refused by Ealing Council.

The Kennel Club raised serious concerns after being made aware of Ealing Council’s consideration to increase the number of puppies that can be held on the premises of a local pet shop, from 8 to 40.

A public hearing was held at Ealing Town Hall yesterday (Monday 30thMarch 2015) to consider a variation to Hanwell Pet Store’s licence. The licence consideration by Ealing Council highlighted the issue of dog welfare in pet shops and the ongoing concern that pet shops sell dogs purely for profit, allowing welfare standards to deteriorate.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “As the largest organisation in the UK dedicated to the health, welfare and training of dogs, the Kennel Club represents a large percentage of responsible dog owners, including those in the Borough of Ealing, and we are therefore delighted that the licence to increase was refused.

“We would advise that those who choose to buy a puppy do so from a responsible breeder such as a Kennel Club Assured Breeder, who breed puppies with full regard to their health and welfare and are inspected to make sure they adhere to our requirements.”

The Kennel Club has contacted Ealing Council to stress the essential need for socialisation in the first weeks of a puppy’s life and highlighted statistics from its annual Puppy Awareness Week survey that highlighted that 41 per cent of people who bought a puppy in the last year did not see the puppy with its mother and 53 per cent did not see its breeding environment, meaning those puppies are highly likely to have been bred by puppy farmers and sold on by third parties including pet shops.

As detailed within the Kennel Club and Dogs Trust’s Puppy Socialisation Plan, developed by dog behaviourist Carolyn Menteith, the foundations for a puppy’s future behaviour and character are laid down in the first 16 weeks of its life. This is a vital time when it is possible to develop the puppy’s brain, and shape the way they will turn out as an adult dog. This is also the time when most problem behaviours can be prevented, long before they even start, giving the dog a far more certain future – and the new owner far fewer potential problems.

For more information on how to buy a dog responsibly please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog-or-puppy/finding-the-right-breeder/where-not-to-buy-a-dog/.

Posted by chesliepickett on Apr 16 2015. Filed under World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.