Norfolk animal sanctuary welcomes proposals to ban pet shops from selling puppies and kittens

Kip, the pug crossbreed, was brought into PACT animal sanctuary after his new owners bought him from a dealer and discovered he was very aggressive. Picture: PACT (Image: Archant)

New government plans would ban the sale of puppies and kittens by pet shops and commercial dealers to tackle the serious health and temperament problems caused by inhumane breeding.

It would also mean that any animal under the age of six months would have to be bought directly from a licensed dog breeder or rescue centre.

A ban on licensed sellers dealing in dogs and cats less than eight weeks old is already coming in on October 1.

PACT animal sanctuary said it receives daily pleas to take in 'very sick' puppies with health problems caused by irresponsible breeding.

Chris and George Rockingham who run PACT Animal Sanctuary in Woodrising. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © Archant Norfolk 2014)

Chris Rockingham, from PACT, said that new proposals to ban pet shops and dealers from selling kittens and puppies would be a big step towards preventing health issues in young animals.

She said: 'So often we are asked to take in a young dog and the animal turns out to be very sick or have a bad temperament because its been bred in bad conditions and taken away from its mother too early.'

Mrs Rockingham said too often owners buy pets from third-party sellers and soon discover they are unable to care the animal because of its temperament or health issues. She added they then find themselves stuck when they try to contact the seller.

The Woodrising-based animal shelter described a recent case of an elderly couple who bought a saluki puppy online but quickly realised they would struggle to take care of it. When they tried to contact the seller they were told they had the wrong number and were unable to return the dog to the breeder.

PACT said it struggles to deal with the extreme number of cases caused by similar issues.

The charity says many of the dogs it takes in after they are bought from third parties have upsetting backstories. Benny, who the rescue centre estimates is around 10 weeks old, is a small crossbreed puppy. He was rescued with the rest of his litter from a dealer attempting to sell the eight-week-old puppies out of a rucksack.

And just this week the team were contacted by a distressed member of the public after she saw an advert for an eight-year-old collie terrier cross, photographed in 'filthy surroundings'.

And in another case nine-month-old Kip was sold to his second owner through a newspaper advert. When he arrived, the young pug crossbreed had serious temperament issues and after several fights with other dogs his owner took him to PACT, because they feared for the safety of their other dog, a Yorkshire terrier.