Pressure mounts for stronger puppy farm legislation

By Darren J. Prior

Dublin Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews held a public meeting at Leinster House on June 30th that was attended by a mix of animal and dog welfare activists.

According to Senator Andrews, urgent legislative action is needed to reform the dog breeding industry and ensure that animal welfare standards are properly enforced.

Attendees at the meeting included Linda Martin from Dublin Dog Hub; John O’Callaghan from Dog Advocacy Ireland; Martina Kenny from My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue; and Hannah Unger and Demi Mullen from Dog Law Ireland.

Speaking to Dublin People, Senator Andrews said that he is working on legislation in the area of dog welfare, which he plans to publish later this year.

The Government announced its own proposed amendment to the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 in May in an attempt to regulate dog breeding establishments and puppy farms.

Senator Andrews said he is looking forward to the opportunity to scrutinise the bill when it comes before the Oireachtas, but that he has “particular concerns regarding the lack of a cap on the number of breeding females permitted within breeding establishments” in the Government’s legislation.

The Social Democrats’ Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore introduced an amendment to the Act in the Dáil last December, which is due to be debated in the Dáil in September.

Deputy Whitmore is also very unhappy with the current Government-backed legislation put forward by Minister Martin Heydon.

“What we have in this country is really there is not a huge amount of regulation when it comes to puppy farms.

“And as a result of that we hear of these horrific cases of abuse, or female dogs not being looked after when they are breeding, or indeed issues with pups that are being sold,” Deputy Whitmore told Dublin People.

“I think it is really important that we do have much stronger regulation of this area.

“Puppy farming essentially is the industrial-scale production of pups for sale, and I think there needs to be a very strong focus to ensure that, as much as possible, it is cruelty-free.”

The biggest problem Senator Andrews and Deputy Whitmore see in the Government’s legislation is that there will not be a sufficient cap on the number of breeding bitches permitted in any one dog breeding establishment.

Currently, up to 300 female dogs can be kept at a single dog breeding establishment, and Deputy Whitmore proposes reducing this number to 30.

This is a “really big gap in the current laws at the moment”, one that has been reaffirmed in the amendment announced by Minister Heydon in May, according to Deputy Whitmore.

Supporting Senator Andrews’ and Deputy Whitmore’s initiatives, John O’Callaghan from Dog Advocacy Ireland told Dublin People that, in addition to attending Senator Andrews’ recent meeting at Leinster House, he had also attended the event launching Deputy Whitmore’s amendment last December.

Deputy Whitmore’s bill “goes far deeper into the practice of dog breeding and what ought to happen” and Dog Advocacy Ireland “definitely approve of Jennifer’s bill and the many issues that are addressed in her bill”, John told Dublin People.

According to John, it is “crazy” that anywhere near 300 female dogs can be kept in any one dog breeding establishment.

There are also other proposals in Deputy Whitmore’s amendment bill that are not covered to date by Minister Heydon’s bill.

Linda Martin, of Eurovision fame, set up Dog Hub Ireland outside Finglas in 2024, and the centre has already rehomed more than 500 dogs.

Also speaking to Dublin People, Linda said:”To be called the Puppy Farm Capital of Europe, that saddens me terribly.

“Ireland of the Céad Míle Fáilte, and suddenly that is the name we are being known by. I think it is really a disgrace for our country.”