Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed the recent publication of a report by Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee calling on the Government to bring forward legislation to outlaw puppy farming and to improve animal welfare.

At the full meeting of Oldham Council on 9 November, a Liberal Democrat motion was passed by councillors calling for similar action from government and committing the Council to work with animal welfare agencies and the public to look out for the well-being of puppies and dogs and to end puppy farming in the borough.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Liberal Democrat Councillor Julia Turner, who proposed the motion, said: “It is great to hear that the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee are echoing many of the demands of the Oldham Council Liberal Democrat Group.”

“Like the committee, we want to see the government bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to outlaw puppy farming; introduce greater regulation to ensure that breeders are registered and regulated; and provide more resources for local councils to enforce the law.”

“We would also welcome stronger sentences for people who engage in the abhorrent practice of raising pups that are isolated from their mothers, and then neglected or starved, before selling them for hundreds of pounds to unsuspecting buyers.”

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, seconded the motion, added: “This is a real problem – only one in ten puppies is bred by a licensed breeder. Often illegally bred animals die or become sick shortly after being purchased because they are not vaccinated. And a buyer left with a dead animal or a sizable medical bill has little legal comeback – British customers have more rights when they purchase a refrigerator than they do a puppy.”

“A recent operation in Greater Manchester by the RSPCA, Operation Pagan, found ‘animal suffering on an almost industrial scale’, and Oldham residents from Chadderton, Failsworth and Shaw have been convicted of related offences so in the run-up to Christmas I would ask everyone to remain vigilant to the actions of puppy farmers”.