Last week Julian Knight MP attended an event hosted by Dogs Trust at the House of Commons where the charity called on the government to take urgent action to end the cruel practice of puppy smuggling.
He joined 63 other MPs and peers who attended the event, where there was the opportunity to experience through virtual reality the terrible conditions in which puppies are transported across Central and Eastern Europe to be sold to unsuspecting buyers in the UK.
Since Dogs Trust launched its fourth report ‘When will this Cruel Trade End?’ over 7,000 people have emailed their MPs calling for changes to the Pet Travel Scheme, a set of EU rules which allow compliant pet animals to travel between EU countries without having to go into quarantine.
Speaking after the event, Julian said:
“Puppy smuggling is a horrific practice. The Dogs Trust has cast a light on the true scale of this terrible trade, and I strongly support their call for the Government to take bold action against it. With more stringent enforcement at the border and tougher sentences for convicted offenders, we can prevent programmes such as the Pet Travel Scheme being exploited by criminals.”
