Introduced on 6th April 2020, Lucy's Law spells the beginning of the end for puppy farming. The law was named after Lucy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was found at a puppy farm under terrible conditions. The law is aimed at making third party puppy sales illegal, so you must buy the puppy from the breeder directly.

The highlights of the legislation are:

1. A person is only allowed to sell a puppy if they have bred it themselves.

2. You must be able to see the puppy interacting with the mother, at their place of birth

3. If an organisation is selling without a license, when they should have a license, they could receive an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to six months.

If you suspect any strange behaviour by a seller of puppies, you should report it to the local council.

What is a Puppy Farm?

To put it succinctly: a puppy farm is any location that dogs are being forced to breed for the sole reason of maximising the profit for the 'breeder'.

Often multiple dogs are kept and bred over and over. There are often poor conditions as the 'breeders' don't care for the dogs' wellbeing. Usually, reputable breeders will put the health of puppies and their mothers first, and only have one or two breeds that are being bred from.

This means, the puppies distributed are often sick, traumatised, unsocialised puppies which have been taken away from their mother at just a few weeks old. Often when the mother was in no state to be bred from anyway.

It doesn't need to look like a farm, and sometimes the puppy farmers may even meet you at a rented property to be a 'front' for their real operation, so it is important to stay vigilant and really understand where the puppies are coming from.