Monday 9 November 2009

Pet advertising regulations

The day after my last blog about Dog Control legislation, a terrrible news story was featured across the media about a poor boy in Portsmouth who had been attacked by a dog reported as a Staffordshire Bull terrier cross breed. The owner in control of the dog, was only 11 years old and by all accounts unable to hold or control the animal. This is such a sad tale for all involved and just reinforces the need for a change in Dog Control legislation, which I outlined in my prior blog -championing a specific focus on regulating pet advertising and sales.

Puppies and dogs (amongst other animals) are bought and sold through internet advertising at a rapid rate. It is just too easy these days for people to purchase a pet, without any real thought as to whether they can care for them or meet their needs. It is also far to easy for 'backbedroom' breeders to sell on puppies without any idea of whether the owner will look after them responsibly and not misuse them in any way.

The Mayhew is part of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) made up of animal welfare organisations, media publishing companies and the Metropolitan Police, working to promote responsible pet advertising. More needs to be done at a government level to stop the traffic of pets being passed around and the consequences for both person and animal. http://paag.org.uk/


On Thursday this week, BBC2's Wonderland will be screening a programme, Seven pups for Seven people following a litter of Staffordshire Bull Terrier pups and the homes they will end up going to. It will be interesting to see how the owner of these puppies approaches finding responsible new homes for each one........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nts91

Seven puppies are born to a first-time mother called Uggs in a cramped front room in East London. These aren't just cute and cuddly puppies - they are Staffordshire bull terrier crosses, the dogs the tabloids sometimes call 'devil dogs'. They are both one of the most sought-after breeds in the country, and perversely the most frequently abandoned. One in three of Battersea Dogs Home's total intake is a Staffie cross.




This film follows the fate of Uggs' puppies as her owner tries to find new homes for them at 300 pounds a pup. It isn't long before boon turns to burden, however, as Uggs' owner realises the puppies are costing her more in food and care than she can ever make from the sales.



Introducing Uggs' owner and the new Staffie pup owners, this film uncovers the lives of the people from a marginalised section of society, who may mistrust other humans, but have a genuine love of the Staffordshire bull terrier.

1 comment:

  1. I am really looking forward to seeing this program .. I am one of those people that bought the £300 puppy cross stuffie from the back of a car and a non reputable breeder ..Iwas sorry for the condition of its mother full of mange . and really smelly ..Still we have loved the puppy to his now 2nd year ..The only difficult part is the enormous prejudice toward this breed ..Yes he is as bouncie as Tigger from Pooh and yes when or if he gets into a scaffafle with another dog over a toy or in play it is often he that gets blamed for it ..when in fact is what all dogs do ..on occasion rare as can be its possible for any dog to get super annoyed at another .It worries me enormously that because of all this preconception if anything more serious ever happened it would be our incredibly loving dog to be asked to cease to exist..He is protective of all the family members and our friends that became part of his pack..It is a very real and worrying situation for all lovers of this breed of dog.

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