Celebs and dogs gather for annual PupAid event

The UK is supposed to be a nation of animal lovers but there’s a secret industry going on 24/7 that sadly couldn’t be further from the truth. ‘Puppy farming’ – commercial mass production of hundreds of thousands of puppies – goes on around the clock all over Britain but mainly in Wales. Concrete agricultural units that once housed cattle and sheep are now ‘home’ to up to 200 imprisoned breeding bitches and stud dogs per shed, all kept alive for the sole purpose of producing more pups to sell for huge profits. Sadly, not only are these breeding dogs kept in horrific conditions, often with no clean water or dog food, ventilation, waste clearance or any preventative veterinary treatments; but their puppies are removed from their mums too early, totally unsocialised with impaired immune systems making them unable to cope in the outside world. PupAid aims to change all this. The brainchild of TV Vet Marc Abraham, PupAid is a campaign to raise much needed awareness about the correct way to choose a dog such as adoption from a rescue centre or from a responsible source such as the Kennel Club. TV Vet Marc, who’s appeared on BBC Breakfast and This Morning, says “These huge battery farms for dogs and the thousands of sick pups they churn out – often requiring thousands of pounds in veterinary treatment to fix – are an animal welfare nightmare and a situation that seems to be getting worse as more people shop online. “By organising an annual event of this kind we can hopefully educate more people about the horrors of puppy farming and seriously damage the supply and demand chain of these sick and diseased pups thus ending puppy farming for good.” PupAid is also actively petitioning the government online to stop puppy farming and over 40,000 signatures have been gathered since the May launch. Animal loving celebs supporting PupAid include Ricky Gervais, Brian May, Amy Childs, John Barrowman and Joanna Page, and Lydia and Debbie from TOWIE. PupAid is free to attend and takes place on Saturday 7 September from 10am to 5pm in very dog friendly Royal Park Primrose Hill and will feature a celebrity judged fun dog show, various doggy displays, boutique doggy shopping village, Have-a-Go-Agility, family BBQ, Crufts Best in Show winner Jilly, Temptation Alley, as well as free microchipping. The event is generously sponsored by Barking Heads, Adaptil, Specsavers, Agria, Parvoalert, PetsPyjamas, and Sniffy’s Dog Treats. For more info and to sign the petition visit: www.pupaid.org or follow @PupAid on twitter.