An unintended consequence of rising pet ownership

Our May editorial highlighted the greatly increased demand for pet dogs during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as some of the consequences such as behavioural problems, rapidly increasing costs of dogs and even a surge in dog thefts because pets have become such a valuable commodity. The rising incidence of these crimes has led to organisations, from Dogs Trust to the Metropolitan Police, issuing advice on how to minimise the chances of pet theft.

The supply of puppies in the UK depends on registered breeders and casual breeders allowing their family pet to have a litter. Although, the latter are somewhat of a rarity now with the successful promotion of neutering. In normal pre-pandemic times, the supply of UK bred dogs is not sufficient to satisfy demand. In the current climate, where the demand for dogs is at an all-time high, we are not even coming close to supplying enough home-grown dogs. As a consequence, the importation of dogs has become a big business. This can be done both legally and illegally and there is little way of knowing the true number of animals being unofficially imported in to the UK.