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Dog lovers plan protest over sale of puppies at Harrods
Dog lovers are due to gather at Harrods this weekend to protest against the sale of puppies at the luxury department store.
Campaigners opposed to the practice of intensive puppy farming will stage the demonstration outside the iconic Knightsbridge building on Saturday before handing a 1,500-strong petition to staff.
Buying a Yorkshire terrier puppy from Harrods can cost more than ã1,000, while the fashionable bichon frise variety goes for upwards of ã1,500. Kittens are also on sale at around ã1,000.
Harrods insists all its animals are bred and cared for to the highest standards by home breeders, who it carefully monitors.
But protesters say suppliers to some pet shops are driven purely by profit and do not take proper care of their dogs or perform checks for hereditary diseases.
Campaign spokeswoman Mandy Dumont said: "Harrods is a high profile store and should set an example by stopping the sale of puppies immediately. The vast majority of pet shop puppies are from puppy farms who only breed for money with no thought to the welfare and health of the puppy, its parents or the buyers.
"Puppy farms often have appalling conditions and lack of welfare, no checks for hereditary diseases and no socialisation. Parents suffer for years and are then discarded once they can no longer breed."
Former Blue Peter and Vets in Practice vet Joe Inglis, supporting the campaign, said: "Puppy farming is an abuse of our loyal canine companions who deserve to be brought up in healthy and loving environments, and I wholeheartedly support the campaign aim to bring an end to the suffering puppy farms cause."
The protesters believe anyone interested in buying a dog should first turn to rescue shelters, and avoid any pet shop where puppies may have been raised in battery farm-like conditions.
A Harrods spokesman said the store had 'high standards of care and attention' and a strict policy on the sale of pets, with potential buyers having to produce paperwork and be interviewed by one of its trained handlers.
He said: "All of our breeders are reputable and breed their animals in a home environment. Harrods works closely with the Kennel Club and numerous animal welfare charities to ensure that we sell livestock in the most responsible way that we can."
He said full background checks are undertaken, breeding records are reviewed, kennel registration is checked and home visits are arranged to ensure its suppliers are 'maintaining impeccable standards and breeding animals which are healthy, happy, socialised and suitable for Harrods customers'.
The store's three livestock handlers exercise, play, handle and groom all of the animals on an hourly basis, he said, adding: "We also have a private exercise area for our animals to give them time to relax away from the public."
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No responsible, ethical, caring breeder would sell their puppies to a pet shop as they would want to check the new owners themselves and also offer lifetime back up. It is against the Kennel Club Code of Ethics for a breeder to sell KC registered puppies to a shop
No responsible breeder has either the need or inclination to sell pups and kittens to pet shops no matter how presigious the shop thinks it is, it is just adhorant.
The KC are not an animal welfare organisation but a private members club. If you want more information on Puppy Farms and the horrors they inflict then please visit www.puppylovecampaigns.org Harrods may not be sourcing their pups from what we know puppy farms to be now but they did in the past. Also some home bred pups can be in a situation akin to a Back Yard Breeder no matter what paperwork is available. NO DOGS AND CATS SHOULD BE SOLD AS GOODS IN THIS WAY. it is immoral.
A good, responsible breeder would never sell their puppies to a pet shop,they would , instead have a waiting list for their litters and make sure the homes were suitable.
Harrods is deliberately missing the point of this campaign. By continuing to sell puppies they are reinforcing the perception that dogs are a retail commodity and helping to perpetuate the most horrific end of this trade.
It's time they understood what most other responsible retailers have already appreciated - that taking a moral stand is sometimes more important than profit.
Harrods profess to have a strict code of ethics for all their suppliers which they cannot be following by buying puppies from these breeders. As somebody else has said it it totally against kennel club rules to sell puppies to a retailer. They should stop buying these puppies and selling them on at a huge profit, it is disgraceful.
What about health tests? Sorry in this day and age I want to know everything about the parentage, the owners and the breeders. I want to see the puppies in their home environment. I want to see records that health checks have been done - ie - hips, elbows and eye tests. I want to be able to research the history of the lines before I engage with a breeder. What about life time contracts? Most breeders will take the dogs back they have bred if there is ever a need, what do Harrods expect? They won't rehome them will they? So means more dogs into rescue centres.
This practice needs to be stopped and banned for life, then maybe we can stop these puppy farmers and those who breed for profit and not for the well being of the dogs and the breeds.
Harrods could earn far more respect from the public if they adopted the stance by refusing to sell puppies from a pet shop environment. They would also be setting an example for other pet shops to follow.
It is not illegal to buy in and resell puppies as a commodity but it is unethical in this modern age to do so.
Puppies are sentient beings and should be viewed for sale at their birthplace interacting with their mother. The dam and sire should have been health screened for known hereditary conditions prior to mating and producing a litter of puppies. The breeder at the place of sale should be able to show you the relevant paperwork confirming screening of the parents, KC registration documents of parents and puppy and vaccination certificate.
It is known that puppies sold from retail outlets often suffer from disease, due to poor animal welfare practice at their birthplace and the stress of transportation to reach the pet shop, this does not always transpire until a few days after the puppy is sold and arrives in its new home.
Be wise before you buy a puppy not after, there are better choices available to you than buing from a pet shop.