The charity is calling on the Government to pass the Kept Animals Bill.

Dogs Trust has hand delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street, urging the Government to pass the Kept Animals Bill.

Paula Boyden, Dogs Trust’s veterinary director, delivered the letter in the company of Waffle, a dog who was smuggled into the UK from Slovakia.

The letter was signed by more than 50,000 supporters of the charity.

The Kept Animals Bill would ban imports of dogs with cropped ears and create new powers to tackle puppy smuggling.

Despite being a manifesto promise, and receiving cross-party support, the legislation has stalled in Parliament. Dogs Trust are among a range of animal welfare charities calling for the Bill to be made law.

Ms Boyden said: “The Kept Animals Bill has been brought up in Parliament no less than 35 times – but each time it’s either been ignored, or a non-committal response has been given. So today, in desperation, I visited No.10 to hand deliver a letter urging the Prime Minister to please bring back the Bill before it’s too late, and help end puppy smuggling, so puppies like Waffle don’t continue to suffer.  

“Why has the Government continued to allow this to happen? It certainly feels, at the moment, as if the Government made some empty promises in their manifesto – I very much hope they’ll prove me wrong.”

Earlier this month, Government minister Mark Spencer answered a parliamentary question on the future of the Kept Animals Bill, stating that future Bill stages would be set out in the usual way.

Image (C) Dogs Trust