A 12-month investigation by the organization Care And Respect Includes All Dogs (C.A.R.I.A.D.) has revealed the horrifying truth about how dogs on puppy farms in Wales are handled when they “retire.”
According to whistleblowers, the unscrupulous breeders are using bolt guns to kill dogs who may no longer able to reproduce, or are simply considered overstock. Just two farms were found responsible for killing an astonishing 80 dogs.
Legally, puppy farmers can kill unwanted dogs as long as the killing is considered “humane,” but bolt guns result in a painful and terrifying death. And tragically, the majority of these dogs could still have many years of life ahead.
Earlier this year, Lady Freethinker interviewed C.A.R.I.A.D. founder Linda Goodman to discuss her work and help raise awareness of the puppy farming industry.
Goodman shared, “It is the institutionalized factory farming of dogs in order to produce puppies . . . They have no life. They have one purpose for these people, and that is to be a renter womb basically – produce as many litters as possible, and then when you can’t do it anymore, you are surplus to requirements and usually you are dispensed with.”
Goodman hopes the investigation will lead to regulations that guarantee and enforce humane retirements on the farms.
She told Wales Online, “There should only be three options for retirement: handing the dogs to a recognised rehoming organisation, if sold on to the public they should be microchipped, or if it is deemed by a vet as beyond veterinary help it should be humanely euthanised.”
It is horrifying that after living such tragic lives, these beautiful dogs are met with such cruel ends. We applaud C.A.R.I.A.D.’s work and the bravery of the whistleblowers who helped bring this issue to light, and urge the Welsh government to handle this situation with the seriousness it deserves by enforcing strict and humane requirements and eventually shutting down puppy farms entirely.
If you are looking to add a furry addition to your family, please remember to adopt, don’t shop. There are so many wonderful abandoned and stray animals in need of loving homes, and by adopting from shelters and rescues, you not only save a life but help end puppy mill cruelty.
