Criminals to be stopped from smuggling puppies: 'Thousands are taken from their mothers far too young'

The “most significant piece of animal welfare legislation in the last seven years” is due to pass through its last stage in parliament – and it will give the government powers to stop criminals smuggling puppies and kittens into the country.

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill reaches its third and final reading in the House of Lords today (21 November). 

It will raise the minimum import age of puppies and kittens to six months, block the import and sale of dogs with cropped ears and declawed cats, ban the import of heavily pregnant dogs and cats, and introduce tougher penalties for illegal importers.

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Josh Heath, senior public affairs officer at Dogs Trust, said: “It should end the pull that’s making it so easy to bring dogs into the country. At the moment, legislation is being exploited by smugglers to bring in dogs into the country, because it is very easy to do. 

“It is designed to allow you to bring your dog on holiday and there are minimal checks. This bill will make a material difference.”

Yorkshire Terriers Pip and Squeak were just seven weeks old when they were illegally smuggled into the UK. They were far too young to be separated from their mother and too young to enter the country legally.

The current legal age for dogs to be brought into the UK is 15 weeks.

Pip and Squeak had endured a 1,494-mile journey from Slovakia, spending 26 hours in cramped and squalid conditions in a box in the back of a car. They had had no access to food or water and few opportunities to stop for toilet breaks.

The tiny dogs were seized on the port of Dover in September 2025 on suspicion of being underage. They had no paperwork, no microchips and no rabies or tapeworm treatment. They were placed in the care of Dogs Trust through its Puppy Pilot scheme to recover and build back their health before they find their forever families.

“We help meet the cost of dogs which have been detained. Generally when they arrive via Dover, it would have to be Kent Council, for example, who foots the bill,” said Heath, explaining the Puppy Pilot scheme.

“We set up this pilot (which isn’t a pilot anymore – it’s existed for more than a decade) and we meet the cost of puppies which have been illegally landed and seized and we help put them into loving homes where they belong.”

More than 3,200 illegally imported puppies have been helped to find homes through this scheme. If Dogs Trust had not been involved, they would likely have been sold to “unwitting dog owners” and more than £5 million would have been put into the hands of illegal importers.

Dogs Trust is the only charity who work with the APHA (Animal and Plant Health Agency) to aid the interception of illegally imported puppies at the ports.

“Many people aren’t aware that they are buying smuggled puppies. It’s a market that’s very easy, because when people buy puppies, they might make an emotive decision. It’s very difficult to change people’s mind and spot those red flags if they are looking to buy a puppy,” Heath said.

Some of the signs of a smuggled puppy include being pressured into a sale or to be asked to put down a large deposit, little information being known about the dog, and not being shown photos of the dog’s mother.

The new Animal Welfare Bill will give greater legal protections so that dogs are less likely to endure experiences such as those faced by Pip and Squeak.

The bill will also mean that only five dogs or cats per vehicle can be brought into the UK. The current law allows five animals brought over per person, meaning that 25 could enter in a car of five people.

Liberal Democrat MP Danny Chambers, who tabled the Animal Welfare Bill, said: “Every year thousands of puppies are taken from their mothers far too young, smuggled by criminal gangs across Europe in the back of vans and sold in the UK for profit, with no care for their welfare. Well, no more.

“As a vet, knowing this bill will have a bigger impact on animal welfare than I could possibly have achieved in a lifetime treating individual animals demonstrates how important this legislation will prove to be.”

Dogs Trust has been campaigning for action on puppy smuggling for more than a decade, after changes to the Pet Travel Scheme in 2012 opened the door for puppy smugglers.

This bill is the charity’s third attempt to get it passed through parliament. The Kept Animals Bill was scrapped in May 2023, and a previous version of the import bill was dropped when the Conservative government called a general election. This current bill has reached the furthest stage in parliament of these and is likely to be passed.

“Dogs Trust and myself personally are thrilled this is passing. This is 10 years of work,” Heath said. “However, I’d like to point out this isn’t the end of our work. This bill gives the government powers to enact these things.

“What we need to do after this is put pressure on the government to actually use these powers and table secondary legislation. But it’s a great step regardless because this will put it in the statute books.”

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