Risk of RABIES outbreak in UK as French bulldogs smuggled in from high intensity puppy farms could bring disease
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A dog charity claims the UK is increasingly at risk of a rabies outbreak due to the amount of puppies being smuggled in from Europe.
Lindsey Scanlon, 44, is the founder of French Bulldog Saviours.
She has rescued hundreds of the fashionable dogs from unscrupulous breeders across Britain.
Many of these were bred in high intensity puppy farms in Eastern Europe and smuggled into the UK with fake pet passports.
But without proper screening Lindsey claims Britain is more open then ever to outbreaks of serious diseases in dogs such as rabies.
She said: “For me it’s a case of when not if we see a case of rabies in the UK.
“The amount of dogs I am seeing with hereditary problems and other diseases because of the way they were farm bred in Europe convinces me we have a ticking time bomb on our hands.”
Lindsey has to deal with the fallout from the illicit trade, much of which is fuelled by celebrity endorsements and the ever-changing fads for ‘accessory pets.’
She cares for hundreds of French bulldogs she has rescued at her centre in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, many of whom have terrible genetic defects, diseases and behavioural problems due the horrific conditions in which they were bred.
Buyers are now choosing by colour and exaggerated body characteristics which is causing horrific problems for the animals.
Lindsey said: “It’s such big business with continental breeders - or ‘Greeders’ as we call them able to charge £1,000 or more for puppies once they have got them into in the UK.”
Two years ago a Daily Mirror investigation revealed how unscrupulous Eastern European dealers have been lying about puppy ages in a bid to cash in on an illegal trade that rakes in millions of pounds a month.
Pets exported from the EU to Britain are meant to be at least 15 weeks old and treated for rabies.
But we found that dogs as young as five weeks are being put into crates bound for the UK - after being bought at Hungarian markets where they spend all day crammed into tiny cages as temperatures soar to 30C.
Their immune system is not developed well enough to cope with a rabies jab, rendering the injection useless.
The trade has become big business and a report by the RSPCA revealed last year that nearly 200 poorly puppies were being trafficked into Britain every day.
A shocking 70,000 of the vulnerable creatures were illegally transported here by Irish and Eastern European gangs in 2015 - a massive increase from the 1,800 reported in official figures five years ago.
Lindsey said she fears the amount of diseased dogs she is dealing with is the direct result of the high demand for pets as fashion accessories.
She said: “When we started our rescue four years ago there would typically be three or four pages of advertisements on sites like Pets for Homes and Gumtree; when we checked recently there were four hundred and thirty two pages between selling sites - just for French Bulldogs.”
The biggest current killer of French Bulldogs is BOAS or Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome caused by breeding selection that leavers animals predisposed to upper airway tract obstruction and subsequent respiratory distress.
A spokesman for Animal welfare charity Four Paws UK said: “Currently, not enough is being done to prevent puppies being brought into the UK without the proper vaccinations and from very questionable conditions, so there is of course a risk of canine diseases entering the country, which could potentially include rabies.
“While the risk of a rabies case is relatively small, it is clear the Government should not need to wait for a rabies outbreak before taking this issue more seriously.”
The RSPCA advise the threat of a rabies outbreak is very low.
They point out the major diseases they see puppies suffering from are Parvo, Echinococcus and Leishmaniasis.
An RSPCA spokesperson said “The illegal importation of puppies is a major problem for the RSPCA.
“As well as serious concerns over the welfare of the puppies being imported, there is also a risk that these dogs can bring diseases into the country with them.”
What is the risk of Rabies in Britain?
Britain has been rabies-free since the beginning of the 20th century.
The only exception to this being a rabies-like virus which is found in a species of wild bat called Daubenton’s bats but the risk to humans is low.
There has only been one recorded case of someone catching rabies from a bat in the UK.
But if you find an injured or dead bat, do not touch it. Wear thick gloves if you need to move it.
Call the Bat Conservation Trust helpline on 0345 1300 228