A new report has revealed there are more puppy farms operating in Aberdeenshire than anywhere else in the north of Scotland.
Animal protection charity OneKind has called for urgent action to tackle what it describes as “Scotland’s puppy profiteers”, with animals often left in cramped, cold and squalid conditions.
The organisation identified 97 licensed breeders in Scotland – 16 in South Lanarkshire, 14 in Aberdeenshire and 11 in Angus.
No other authority has more than 10, with just one apiece in the Highlands, Moray and the Western Isles and none in Orkney or Shetland.
But although these farms have legal status, animal protection groups have claimed many play fast and loose with the regulations.
OneKind’s policy advisor Libby Anderson said: “I think people would be genuinely shocked to discover the true nature of Scotland’s legal breeding establishments.
“It’s time to face up to the suffering caused by the toxic combination of enormous demand for pedigree puppies and weak regulation of the trade.
“These conditions mean that profit is being put ahead of welfare, resulting in illegal trafficking and dealing.”
The charity has laid out an eight-point plan to protect puppies in Scotland which includes a ban on third-party sales of dogs, and mandatory standards for internet purchases.
Their findings have been backed by the Scottish SPCA’s chief superintendent Mike Flynn who said: “The illegal puppy trade is an abhorrent practice that has no regard for the welfare of the animals involved.
“Week after week animal rescue organisations across the UK and Ireland and devastated owners are picking up the pieces of a multimillion-pound industry which treats these dogs as nothing more than commodities.
“Consumers must play their part and our advice to anyone thinking of taking on a puppy is to firstly consider re-homing a rescue dog.
“No one should ever buy an animal in a public place such as a car park and anyone who does so is fuelling a trade which is purely about making money, with little or no consideration for the animals.”
Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin told the Press and Journal about
the “heartbroken families” she had met in her own constituency, who had bought animals in good faith only to discover they were ill and had to be put down.
She added: “Our rescue centres are full of dogs needing loving homes, and I would encourage anyone who wants a dog in their life to make a centre their first option.”
The Scottish Government has pledged to educate the public about sensible purchasing.
Aberdeenshire Council said it was granting licences in accordance with the law and couldn’t control how many applications it received.