Teddy was intercepted at the UK border with his three brothers and sisters.

Rescue comes as a parliamentary inquiry into puppy smuggling begins

Dogs Trust has announced the milestone rescue of the 1,000th puppy to be helped through its scheme to save illegally imported puppies at the UK border.

Chow chow puppy Teddy, as named by his new family, was intercepted at the UK border with his three brothers and sisters. Aged just five weeks old, he was far below the legal limit of 15 weeks and was handed over to Dogs Trust as part of its Puppy Pilot scheme.

Dogs Trust said the puppies had been illegally imported via the Pets Travel Scheme (PETS) from Bulgaria, most likely to be sold on the internet to unsuspecting families.

The landmark rescue comes as the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into puppy smuggling gets underway. As the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, Dogs Trust has provided written evidence to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA), and veterinary director Paula Boyden is set to give oral evidence at a session on Wednesday.


The organisation is calling on the government for urgent change, including stronger penalties and the introduction of a centrally-accessible database to log pets’ microchip numbers. Speaking ahead of the hearing, Ms Boyden said:

“It’s dogs like Teddy, our 1000th pup rescued from the puppy smuggling trade, who are the victims of this terrible industry. It’s heart-breaking to see puppies as young as five weeks when they should not have even left their mothers, transported thousands of miles in terrible conditions to be illegally imported and sold on to unsuspecting buyers. Thankfully, Teddy is now in a loving home but not all smuggled puppies are so lucky.

“Having carried out four undercover investigations revealing widespread abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme, we are urging the Government to take swift action to bring an end to the despicable puppy smuggling trade. We hope this week’s inquiry will be an important step forward in bringing about tougher penalties for those fuelling this cruel trade and overhauling pet travel legislation to introduce greater checks at the borders. The Government must do more to protect puppies like Teddy from harm.”


As part of its call for action, Dogs Trust would also like to see the government review and amend legislation governing pet travel, trade, and disease control. This includes the possibility of reintroducing important animal health requirements that are not permitted under EU legislation post-Brexit.

Dogs Trust would also like to see the requirement for a rabies blood (titre) test before entry into the UK, together with a waiting period in line with the incubation period of rabies.

Image (C) Dogs Trust.