Puppy farmed dogs disease risk

There are worrying reports of an outbreak of Canine Brucellosis in Irish puppy farms. As many UK pet shops source their stock from Ireland there is a real fear that this devastating disease could quickly spread here.
Should the import of puppy farmed dogs cease to stop this ghastly disease spreading? We'd do it if it was a Foot and Mouth outbreak. If these people want to behave like farmers they should be treated as such.
Let's stop the trade in puppy farmed dogs immediately.

The Dublin SPCA website is carrying the following warning:

Canine Brucellosis (Brucella canis) poses a public health hazard since it is transmissible to humans, especially those handling aborted fetuses. Humans may develop a serious liver impairment or arthritis.
Information received from reliable sources has led Dublin SPCA Animal Welfare personnel and their colleagues from the Ulster SPCA to visit a puppy farm in Offaly to investigate reports of a potentially devastating outbreak of a virulent disease amongst animals kept on the premises.

The farm, near Moate, is one of Europe’s largest mass breeding establishments and churns out thousands of so called ‘pedigree puppies’ each year to meet demand in Ireland and the UK for ‘designer dogs’.

The operators refused cooperation on the visit but reluctantly confirmed the presence of Canine Brucellosis. This is a highly contagious bacterial disease and will now be endemic amongst the hundreds of dogs and pups currently on the farm or recently exported from it.

There is NO vaccine or effective treatment for this disease and it is likely the farm will require depopulation. The outbreak clearly has potential welfare and economic repercussions in the Republic and it is imperative animals are not removed from this farm until their health status has been assessed. Both the Dublin SPCA and ISPCA have contacted veterinary authorities in the Republic to request an immediate quarantine of the premises.

In the absence of any effective welfare legislation North and South both the Dublin and Ulster SPCAs are constantly warning the puppy buying public of the pitfalls of buying dogs from unknown sources. This outbreak emphasizes our many warnings; the puppy farming industry in Ireland breeds both dogs and disease and must be properly regulated.

Jimmy Cahill, Chief Executive, Dublin SPCA said: “We are calling on the Department of Agriculture or Department of Environment to take immediate action and quarantine this puppy farm to prevent any further contamination of the canine population in this country. We anticipate that this breeder will start moving animals off his premises today thus escalating the spread of this virulent disease. Every hour increases the risk of a countrywide Canine Brucellosis epidemic. This health risk is an inevitable result of the antiquated legislation in this country which allows inhumane over-breeding to continue.”

Stephen Philpott, Chief Executive, USPCA: “Puppy farming in Ireland, unlike most European countries, has no regulations governing its practice. In the absence of effective legislation in both the North and South the USPCA is constantly warning the puppy buying public of the pitfalls that can lurk in an apparently innocuous looking ad offering them the puppy of their dreams. This outbreak underlines our countless warnings; the puppy farming industry in Ireland, fuelled by greed, breeds both dogs and disease and must be properly regulated.”

Dublin SPCA and Ulster SPCA are jointly issuing warnings to their colleagues in the RSPCA, Irish and UK Kennel clubs and Veterinary Council of Ireland as well as Government Departments. Minister for the Environment John Gormley must introduce dog breeding regulations first promised by the department in 2006.