BBC Panorama investigation shows why our dog breeding and Link campaigns are vital

On Monday 23rd January, BBC Panorama aired their investigation into the links between organised crime and extreme dog breeding. Increasingly, dogs are becoming the commodity of choice for criminals, who threaten both dog welfare and their local communities. The documentary clearly shows why our dog breeding and campaigns are so important.

Here’s some of the key issues highlighted in the programme and three things that we think need to be done.

Illegal breeding

Puppy farming has changed. Some people do still keep hordes of dogs in windowless sheds in the middle of nowhere. But you’re now just as likely to find an illicit dog breeder on your doorstep. Many of today’s puppy farmers use networks of co-ownership arrangements across our towns and cities. This means they can avoid local authority licensing and taking care of the dogs they exploit. The Panorama programme highlighted one unlicensed breeder who boasted about having a network of 120 dogs – almost all kept as co-owns.

And whereas before it was all about the puppies, many illicit breeders are now keeping high numbers of male ‘stud’ dogs and making eye-watering sums from selling their semen throughout the UK and internationally. In the documentary, one breeder claimed to be making £100,000 a month from their male dogs. The poor dogs we often see being used this way have almost always been bred to extremes. In the warped world of extreme breeding, the things that cause dogs to suffer – like deformed bodies, baggy skin, flat faces – are the things that command the most money.

Canine fertility clinics

Canine fertility clinics have boomed in recent years. Criminals and puppy farmers have set up their own breeding clinics so they can avoid welfare-oriented vets and ‘create’ extreme dogs, usually bully breeds. The programme featured a convicted puppy farmer who was prosecuted in 2022. He had his own fertility clinic in the backyard. Despite being hit with a huge fine, Panorama found he was still involved in breeding using male studs.

Animal cruelty

The trend for owning dogs with cropped ears has been fuelled by low-welfare breeders and people who want to own status dogs. This cruel procedure is illegal under the UK’s Animal Welfare Acts, but criminals hide behind loopholes to claim their dogs have been lawfully cropped overseas and imported. Panorama clearly showed this is a total smokescreen. Two bully pups with freshly cropped ears were seen at just ten weeks old – too young to have even been imported into the UK.

Organised crime

Criminals are fuelling the extreme breeding market because the risks associated with dealing in dogs are so low. As well as generating huge profits, breeding businesses provide the perfect front for organised criminals. Panorama found convicted criminals dealing in dogs, even from prison. These astonishing findings show why animal crime needs to be treated seriously.

Irresponsible breeding and ownership

Most upsetting of all was when programme makers met Emma, whose son, Jack, sadly lost his life after being mauled by an XL bully. Dog attacks are on the increase and irresponsible breeding and ownership can often be part of the cause. People are breeding and buying huge bully crosses who they can’t train or control. Dogs and attack victims alike are paying the price, sometimes with their lives.

What needs to be done?

It’s clear that we need to think about dog breeding, animal cruelty and wider criminality more holistically. Currently, dog breeding regulations are inadequate and too narrowly focused, whilst animal cruelty is still regarded as a more minor form of offending, despite overwhelming evidence of The Link between animal and human violence. Until we start to see the connections between these issues, dogs, people and communities will continue to suffer.

Here’s three things we think need to change:

We need better dog breeding regulations that are enforceable – so many dog welfare issues are caused by irresponsible breeding, and this has consequences for wider society. We need our regulatory regime to genuinely put dog health, welfare and temperament first. That means strengthening dog breeding regulations to capture all types of dog breeding activity and cracking down on harmful breeding practices, such as those perpetuated by canine fertility clinics. We also need those who are responsible for enforcement to be adequately trained and resourced. The Government has our recommendations for dealing with canine fertility clinics and strengthening dog breeding regulations in England. We need your help to keep up the pressure – send an email to your MP today.
We need the Government to pass the Kept Animals Bill – the Kept Animals Bill would close the ear cropping loopholes that cruel breeders and owners hide behind. It is simply inexcusable that the Government is stalling on passing this legislation, which would also introduce other vital animal welfare protections and prevent suffering. Ask your MP to keep animals on the political agenda.
We need policy-makers and public protection bodies to take The Link seriously – the 18^th-century painter and campaigner, William Hogarth, acknowledged The Link between animal and human violence nearly two hundred years ago. Since then, there have been countless examples of this connection and yet our criminal justice and public protection policies still fail to acknowledge it adequately. We want our nine-point plan to be adopted by police officers and public protection personnel to help protect animals and people.