Illegal dogs sold in pubs for £250 says Battersea MP (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Illegal dogs sold in pubs for £250 says Battersea MP

6:50pm Monday 8th February 2010

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Illegally bred dogs are being sold in pubs for up to £250, Battersea MP Martin Linton told the House of Commons last week.

Mr Linton revealed the information as Dogs Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said he would consider Mr Linton’s proposal for compulsory micro-chipping of dogs as part of the Government’s response to the Bateson Report on dangerous dogs.

In a commons question, the MP also asked the minister to consider a minimum age for dog ownership and for a tougher registration system for dog breeders.

The minister and MP visited Battersea Dogs and Cats’ Home on Thursday to hear views on the need for new dog control legislation.

Mr Linton said: “We saw that nearly half the dogs being admitted to Battersea at the moment are staffies or bull breed crosses.

“The numbers are rising all the time because back-street breeders are selling puppies to complete strangers in pubs for £250. This is unsustainable and we need legislation now to stop unregistered breeders, to make it compulsory to micro-chip dogs and to enforce an age limit on dog ownership.”

Scott Craddock, director of operations at the home, said existing dog control laws were “no longer fit for purpose” and urged him to institute an urgent full-scale review of existing legislation.

Battersea is the only dogs’ home that accepts all breeds of dogs and as a result over 40 pe cent of the dogs coming into Battersea are “staffies” or bull-breed crosses.

Wandsworth Council was one of the first authorities in the county to make dog chipping compulsory for council tenants.

The home supports the call for compulsory micro-chipping of dogs and for a minimum age of dog ownership of 21 for guard dogs and bull breeds, 18 for other dogs.

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