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Charity releases puppy smuggling Christmas advert
“Puppies are treated like a commodity, bred in huge numbers with no regard for their welfare” – Laura McIntyre.
Advert based on real rescue released by the Scottish SPCA.

The Scottish SPCA has launched its Christmas campaign for this year, focusing on puppy smuggling.

The campaign includes a television advert based on the Scottish SPCA’s rescue of 24 puppies from the low-welfare puppy trade at Cairnryan ferry port in January 2024.

The dogs were found hidden in cardboard boxes and had been left without food or water. Most were underweight with faeces-matted fur. They were part of a scheme that imported puppies to sell online.

Laura McIntyre, the Scottish SPCA’s head of rescue and prevention, explained:  “Puppy smuggling is an industry with direct links to organised crime, worth an estimated £13 million every year to Scotland.

“Puppies are treated like a commodity, bred in huge numbers with no regard for their welfare. The conditions in which they are born can lead to serious medical and behavioural issues and, in many instances, death at just a few weeks old.”

After receiving veterinary care, all 24 of the puppies found at the port survived and have now been rehomed.

The charity, which entirely relies on donations, is asking for support from the public to help it continue its work.

Kirsteen Campbell, Scottish SPCA chief executive, said: “The desperate fact is that animals have never needed us more and our amazing frontline teams are seeing increasingly complicated cases, from the horrors of puppy farming by unscrupulous breeders to the long impact of the cost of living crisis and mental health crisis leading to unintentional neglect by well-meaning owners.

“All of this increases the demand for space in our rescue centres at a time when the cost of providing care for these animals is also on the increase. 

“We need support like never before so that we can continue to be there for animals in these crisis situations.”

The advert can be viewed here.

Image © Shutterstock

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."