Stop the suffering of puppy farm dogs: round two!

We succeeded in our first judicial review against North Kesteven District Council: the court quashed two dog breeding licences and the council grudgingly agreed that the Animal Welfare Act 2006 does apply in puppy farms.  But, they have since issued a new licence to Little Rascals, so we are now raising funds for round two!

Our case

We believe that before granting a licence to a dog breeding establishment, the licensing authority should, as part of its licencing regime, check carefully whether the establishment meets the basic requirements of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

The Animal Welfare Act was set up to protect all animals in England and Wales. The basic animal rights include:

• The right to a suitable environment - for a pet/companion dog this cannot be the barns or other outbuildings that are currently being used to house hundreds of dogs;

• The right to exhibit natural behaviour - the natural behaviour for a pet/companion dog is to be a person’s companion and to be able to exercise, interact and play in the manner to which they were designed and bred;

• The right to be protected from pain, suffering and disease – suffering is inflicted on these dogs due to their unsuitable environment and inability to exhibit natural behaviour.  In addition, we have concerns about hygiene and disease (genetic and contagious) control.

North Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire has granted successive dog breeding licences to “Swindells Livestock Ltd” now trading as "Little Rascals Pets Ltd", enabling them to keep 200 breeding bitches, which is not to mention the many stud dogs and puppies that are kept.  There can be a staggering number of dogs on site at any one time (between around 330 - 370).  In our view, these dogs all live in unsuitable conditions by reference to the Animal Welfare Act.

If successful, our case will not only prevent the suffering of dogs in North Kesteven, but will set a precedent for other local authorities to follow, ensuring that Councils can no longer issue licences to establishments that do not meet the Animal Welfare Act.

Our first judicial review uncovered a variety of technical failings on behalf of the Council; these flaws led to the court ordering two dog breeding licences to be quashed on 18 October 2016.   Unfortunately, the Council immediately re-licenced the premises.  Therefore, we have started new a judicial review – focussed on the Animal Welfare Act failings.  

How much are we raising and what is it for? 

Our initial target is £10,000 which will go some way to pay our lawyers for the work which they have already done at the first stage, which includes: sending a pre-action letter, preparing the application for judicial review, considering the response from the Council and preparing a response.  

With your help we can continue our fight for the rights of these dogs, and the thousands of others, held in unsuitable conditions throughout the country.  Thank you!