Puppy Smuggling Bill one step closer to becoming law

An end of the cruel puppy smuggling trade moved one step closer today after the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, also known as the Puppy Smuggling Bill, passed its remaining stages in the House of Commons today (Friday 4 July 2025). 

The Private Members Bill, sponsored by Winchester MP and vet Danny Chambers, will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before hopefully reaching Final Stages and becoming law. Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has been campaigning for over ten years to tackle puppy smuggling, and this is the third attempt at tougher legislation, with two previous Bills seeking to tackle the awful trade failing to progress through Parliament. 

The Puppy Smuggling Bill addresses critical animal welfare concerns associated with the illegal importation of dogs by seeking to tackle puppy smuggling, the importation of heavily pregnant dogs and the importation of dogs with mutilations. 

The Bill answers most of Dogs Trust’s campaign calls, introducing powers to:  

• increase the age puppies can be imported to six months  
• ban the non-commercial transport of heavily pregnant dogs   
• a ban on the importation and sale of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails
• bring in tougher penalties for those caught illegally importing dogs. 

As well as campaigning for these changes to become law, Dogs Trust has helped to rehome over 3,200 illegally imported puppies to find their forever homes, through the charity’s ‘Puppy Pilot’ scheme, which if sold to unsuspecting members of the public, would have made over £5 million for the illegal importers. 

Three of those dogs are Sunny, Ray and Sky, three Cane Corso puppies who came into Dogs Trust’s care through the Puppy Pilot scheme. They were driven into the country all the way from Romania, a huge 1,500 miles at just 13 weeks of age, below the current legal minimum import age of 15 weeks, and without health certificates. The three dogs entered the UK illegally, under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS), when they should have entered via commercial legislation. They arrived in the charity’s care underweight and extremely anxious. Sadly, all three dogs also had their ears cropped and tails docked, cruel and unnecessary procedures. Ear cropping is illegal in both the UK and EU, whilst tail docking is illegal across the UK but there are some exemptions, such as removal of the tail by a vet for medical reasons or for certain breeds of working dogs.

 Sadly, it remains legal to import dogs from abroad who have suffered these mutilations. The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill seeks to close this loophole, preventing further dogs from suffering at the hands of illegal importers. 
 

Owen Sharp, CEO of Dogs Trust said, “For too long dogs have suffered at the hands of unscrupulous breeders and criminals who have taken advantage of loopholes to mistreat innocent animals, all to make money with no care for their welfare. We are delighted that the Puppy Smuggling Bill has now passed the House of Commons Stage, a huge step for animal welfare, which means we are one step closer to this dreadful trade become a thing of the past.”  

Dogs Trust Ambassador Pete Wicks adopted his dog Eric, after he came into the Dog Trust’s care through the charity’s ‘Puppy Pilot’ scheme. 

Pete Wicks said, “This is an amazing milestone for dogs, and we are heading to a place where puppy smuggling will become a thing of the past. Thanks to Dogs Trust campaigners, the Puppy Smuggling Bill is one step closer to becoming law after thousands of supporters demanded action. If this Bill is passed and successfully implemented, it will be much harder for puppy smugglers to bring dogs into the country in awful conditions, like my French Bulldog Eric, who I adopted in 2015 from Dogs Trust, who came illegally into the country from Lithuania. It will follow the success of Lucy’s Law which saw the banning of third-party puppy sales and puppy farms in Great Britain. My team and I have been helping with this campaign for years and we all look forward to the day when no puppies will have to suffer at the hands of illegal importers.” 

Danny Chambers, vet and Lib Dem MP for Winchester, said, “I’m so proud to bring forward this Bill to stop pet mutilation in Britain once and for all. This legislation will transform animal welfare in the UK and eradicate cruel practices that should have been wiped out years ago. Today, we’re one step closer to closing the loopholes that allow that kind of animal abuse to happen in this country. Mutilated animals can face horrendous injuries, infections, and psychological issues, which vets like myself see each and every day. Even more worryingly, the illegal smuggling of puppies has long caused serious public health worries that dangerous diseases could be brought back into the UK. This bill will curb those concerns – stamping out savage practices that endanger animals everywhere.”