Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, has announced his support for ending puppy smuggling into the UK from abroad.
Richard attended a virtual event with the Dogs Trust. Dogs Trust, British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the wellbeing of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. The Trust aims to ensure dogs across the country are not being mistreated, and the Trust helps dogs that have been abandoned or given away by their owners to find new homes. The Trust has 20 rehoming centres across the UK. You can find out further information about Dogs Trust, as well as information about how to help them by volunteering, fundraising or adopting a dog, here.
Richard attended the virtual drop-in to pledge his support to stop puppy smuggling. Dogs Trust has been exposing the abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme through investigations – the Pet Travel Scheme is used by traders to illegally import thousand of puppies every year from Central and Eastern Europe. Richard has voiced his support for the work that Dogs Trust are doing. Richard has also worked with Farplace Animal Rescue in North West Durham about the work that they are doing and how they have adapted their charity work through the pandemic. You can read more about Farplace and the work that they do here.
Commenting, Richard said:
“I am delighted that I was able to attend the Dogs Trust’s virtual event. They are a brilliant charity who do such an enormous amount for animal welfare on a daily basis, and it is time that puppy smuggling was brought to an end to ensure innocent animals are not facing unnecessary suffering.
“Animal welfare is hugely important to me and I will be doing a lot of work in this area in the coming months. No animal should face needless pain or suffering and charities that support and help animals, whether it’s Dogs Trust or Farplace, are incredibly important and deserve our full support.
“I know that this is something that my constituents will support - we are a nation of animal lovers - and I will continue to work with Dogs Trust in their campaign to prevent puppy smuggling and I want to thank them for raising awareness to this important issue.”
To hear more about the work that Richard is doing for North West Durham, you can sign up here or input your details in the form on this page.
