Hidden away from prying eyes, many thousands of female dogs are housed in agricultural barns and sheds, crudely adapted for the purpose of the mass breeding of dogs. Brood bitches exist solely to produce puppies, mere breeding machines for commercial gain by their owners. Breeding establishments operate throughout the UK, but since the mid fifties, West Wales has provided one of the major sources of puppies traded commercially throughout the world.

Born into a cold hostile world, tiny puppies, are hostage to fortune. Bred in atrocious conditions where their mothers often live a miserable existence in cramped, crude, unhygienic conditions, they are exposed to stress and disease. In West Wales, puppy farms have been established for over 40 years, but in the past decade, as demand has dramatically increased, the number of breeding establishments throughout Britain has risen alarming due to the existence of a large dealer network. They are the lynchpin of the trade, the middlemen and act as the link between breeder and pet shop. They collect and transport hundreds of puppies to pet retailers and commercial outlets throughout the UK. Many others are exported, mainly to the Far East, Japan, Hong Kong and China.

This trade in young pet animals is steeped in cruelty and abuse, from the breeder through transportation by the dealers and in to the pet outlets where puppies are treated as mere commodities by greedy profiteers. Behind their closed doors can lie a sordid tale of misery and neglect. The silent suffering of mans best friend is a sad indictment of a society which allows this to happen.

If you know of anyone who has purchased a puppy or kitten from a commercial source and it is sick or has died, please let us know with as many details as possible. The chances are the animal will have been bred commercially, and with sufficient details the breeder can be identified and the local authority informed.