Is Rescuing Dogs from Overseas Practical?
Estimates suggest that every year, many thousands of rescue dogs from EU countries, with Romania being responsible for around one third of these importations efforts, are imported into the UK for adoption or rescue purposes – but is this appropriate and fair treatment of animals?
People have seen an increasing trend of rescuing dogs and cats from foreign countries and transporting them into the UK, USA, and Canada for adoption purposes. Many blame strict adoption rules and costly adoption fees of UK rehoming charities as contributing factors in adopting immigrant dogs or foreign bred puppies; UK Government figures reveal this increase – from 152,075 imported under Pet ravel scheme in 2013 to 307,357 importations this year alone!
Following changes to UK quarantine regulations in 2012, animal rescue has seen an explosion of growth since. Fuelled by celebrity influence on social media, owners who take in Mexican, Romanian or Spanish dogs or cats find such rescues morally more satisfying and exciting – plus you get bragging rights over saying you rescued an unfortunate creature from Romania!
British vets believe sitting is hazardous.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) recently (November 2019) made public their belief that sitting can pose significant danger, with the BVA declaring “trojan dogs” who may carry life-threatening diseases into households, prompting calls for mandatory health checks from Government.
Lucy’s Law in the UK, designed to reduce puppy farming by restricting sales of puppies and kittens only to registered breeders and animal rehoming charities, may increase foreign import rescue animal trading while simultaneously leading to more charities being founded.
Unsurprisingly, reports indicate that illicit ventures have taken advantage of our desire to rescue dogs from abroad by turning it into a commercial trade – with importers acting as pseudo rescue organizations and reaping rewards by importing and selling in the name of rescue.
Situation is an example of animal lovers gone wild, with so many individuals setting up various enterprises and charities dedicated to saving dogs and cats from foreign streets.