Earlier this week, Liz visited a House of Commons reception hosted by Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity. The charity coined the famous slogan – ‘A dog is for Life, not just for Christmas’ and Liz gave her full support in the fight against Puppy Smuggling.
Dogs Trust has been investigating the problem since 2014, and through three undercover investigations has found that unscrupulous breeders take advantage of, and profit from issues with the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). As a result, underage puppies are being illegally imported into Great Britain from Central and Eastern Europe, and sold to unsuspecting members of the public.
Liz Twist MP said “I’m very pleased to support Dogs Trust in raising awareness of the plight of illegally imported puppies, who suffer the most harrowing of journeys at the hands of these unscrupulous dealers. It’s imperative that the Government takes immediate action by enforcing proper checks at the ports and on-the-spot fines to deter these breeders and dealers, as well as introducing revised legislation as a priority when the UK leaves the EU. We hope this will help to effectively regulate pet travel.
Due to the amount of correspondence my office receives, I understand that the animal welfare is a major concern for many constituents across Blaydon constituency.”
