30.10.25
Following a review of dog breeding licensing in Carmarthenshire, often described as Wales’ puppy farming capital, the County Council has made a series of local and national recommendations to tackle low-welfare and illegal breeding.
Local and national recommendations
Locally, the review recommends introducing a scoring system for licensed breeders, increasing resources for enforcement and exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scan online selling platforms for illegal activity.
Nationally, the Council is calling for the introduction of Fixed Penalty Notices for minor breaches and urging the Welsh Government to review Wales’ dog breeding legislation, including its scope and licensing conditions. This is a particularly welcome recommendation, as Wales currently has the weakest dog breeding licensing standards in the UK, closely followed by Northern Ireland.
Naturewatch Foundation’s evidence
In May 2024, Natalie from our campaigns team gave evidence to councillors as part of the review. We raised concerns about both illegal breeding and low-welfare licensed breeding, as well as designer breeding practices that prioritise appearance over dog health and welfare.
We called for significant improvements to Welsh dog breeding regulations, including better protections for male dogs kept for breeding and improved minimum staffing ratios.
We also recommended increasing the size of the animal licensing team in Carmarthenshire, suggested the council initiate a local awareness campaign, as well as make improvements to the information it publishes about dog breeding and responsible puppy buying on its website.
Challenges of animal welfare enforcement
The review acknowledges the significant challenges the Council faces when licensing dog breeders. These include non-compliance and resistance to licensing conditions, time-intensive legal cases, ethical issues surrounding large-scale breeding, and a disconnect between breeders who view dogs as commodities and public expectations about welfare standards.
Tackling illegal breeding also has major challenges, with barriers such as obtaining warrants, insufficient funds to care for seized animals and limited penalties imposed by the courts following successful prosecutions.
The report highlights several major enforcement cases in recent years. In one instance, 230 dogs were removed from an illegal breeder in the area and, in another, 80 stolen dogs were recovered from a breeding premises.
The council has used the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to secure substantial confiscation orders against prolific offenders, including one fraudulent puppy dealer who was ordered to pay £215,000 as a result of their animal welfare crimes.
Carmarthen Council currently licences 53 dog breeders, a figure only surpassed by North Yorkshire Council and the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk. It also licences the largest licensed dog breeding businesses in Britain with over 100 adult dogs permitted on some of the premises it licences.
Despite these high numbers, the council only currently employs 1.8 members of staff to oversee all animal welfare licensing, including dog breeding, which is comparable to staffing levels at other local authorities with far fewer licensed breeders.
Strong support for change
The review was informed by a public consultation, meetings with key stakeholders and visits to licensed breeding establishments in the area. The consultation results show strong public support for change, with 84% of respondents stating they think current regulations are not strong enough. 98% of respondents also said they think illegal breeding should be proactively investigated by the council and 93% said that the animal health team was under-resourced.
Carmarthenshire has long had a reputation for puppy farming. While there is still a long way to go, it’s encouraging to see the council proactively looking at how it deals with illegal breeding and low-welfare licensed breeding. We will be monitoring the impact of the review closely and continuing to push for stronger protections for dogs and puppies in Wales.
Find out more about our work to tackle the illegal puppy trade here. Learn more about dog breeding in your area with our Dog Breeding Map of the UK & Ireland.
