DOGS Trust have called on the Government to take action to end the cruel practice of puppy smuggling, including putting a stop to illegal puppy farming in Lancashire.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson attended the House of Commons this week, where he was shown, through virtual reality, the terrible conditions in which puppies are transported across Europe to be sold to unsuspecting buyers in the UK.

The Conservative MP said: “Dogs Trust has unveiled a horrendous trade that has been growing over the past few years and we now have the opportunity to make a positive change to stop this practice.”

Dogs Trust has been investigating the problem since 2014 with reports revealing shocking evidence of the Pet Travel Scheme being exploited by illegal puppy importers in Europe who falsify documents for underage puppies.

Mr Stephenson said: “This is a big issue across Lancashire and in particular the Pendle area, and I have been out with RSPCA inspectors doing home visits and looking at all sorts of problems around animal health, dog farming and illegal breeding.

“There’s things the Government is doing but we can only do so much with micro chipping etc and we do still have an issue with the Pet Travel Scheme, which allows people to bring in as many as 20 puppies or dogs in the boot of a car - four dogs per person travelling.”

In 2017, the Lancashire Telegraph was alerted to such suspected behaviour when animal rights campaigners protested outside Douglas Hall Farm Kennel in Newchurch.

The protests were over concerns about where puppies being sold at the site had come from and fears that some animals had become ill.

Despite an investigation into the matter, Environmental Health bosses, who inspect the site every 12 months, said the farm had ‘satisfactorily passed’ recent inspections.

Mr Stephenson said: “What I see going on in East Lancs and the Pendle area is awful, I’ve seen families who’ve bought puppies from illegal breeders, unbeknown to them, who have later died due to the poor conditions they were brought into the county.

“As we leave the EU we need to look at the law and deal with this. And I’m keen to work to find solutions to stop this horrendous trade, including the introduction of tighter controls and the need for much stronger penalties.”

Pendle Dogs in Need said: “Although we have had no experiences involving smuggled dogs, we have taken in many dogs with problems from legal and licensed puppy farms in the UK, which are then sold through local pet shops, and find this to be more of an issue regarding dog welfare in our local area.”