New campaign tells you how to buy a puppy safely

A new campaign from Scottish SPCA and Safer Scotland has been launched to stop the illegal puppy trade. Many puppies advertised online are being sold by illegal dealers – and without knowing the warning signs, you could end up being tricked into buying from a puppy farm. The result can be devastating for both you and your puppy: 1 in 4 puppies bought online die before their fifth birthday and 1 in 3 get sick or die within the first year.

Puppy farmers go to great lengths to deceive potential buyers, from renting fake houses to sell the puppies from, to producing counterfeit paperwork. But there are a number of signs you can spot which indicate that a puppy may have come from a puppy farm. So, if you’re thinking of buying a puppy, visit the campaign site to find out how to buy safely and report the illegal traders: https://www.buyapuppysafely.org