WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BUY PUPPIES FROM SELLERS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
You see them standing at a robot, at a toll gate, outside a shopping mall, with a cardboard box or basket – puppies for sale. You look in and see sweet eyes peering out of a ball of floof and your heart melts and you buy the puppy to ‘rescue’ it.
NO!!! This is the absolute wrong thing to do. Yes, your heart is in the right place, you are worried for the puppy’s welfare. The sad truth is, that if you do buy the puppy, you are in fact buying into the cycle of supply and demand that these unscrupulous sellers feed off. The purchasing of this puppy means that a gap is created for the next one and the next one, condemning both the puppies and the breeding dogs to a vicious circle, where their welfare is certainly not the seller’s primary concern.
The breeding dogs are most likely kept in unsanitary conditions, with inadequate food, water and shelter. Many are kept in crude cages or on short chains and are shown no kindness or affection, they are commodity that is bred until they are no longer of use. The puppies from these dogs are often sick or develop behaviour problems over time as their genetic temperament or health is of no importance to the breeder/seller, they just want to make a quick buck.
The selling of animals in this manner is illegal and is in contravention of Open Animal By-Laws of 2011. It is also in contravention to the by-laws of the Johannesburg Public Health and Safety Act. So, what should you do?
Do not approach the sellers directly as many can become aggressive. Take note of the time and place that the puppies are being sold and a description of the seller. If possible and it is safe to do so, take a picture with your phone of the sellers. Immediately phone 10111 and report the sellers so that police may quickly send out responding officers. Phone the SPCA in the area as the Inspectors can assist the police in the impounding of the puppies. Again, DO NOT attempt to engage with the sellers yourself, you have done your job in reporting them to the correct authorities.
You can be an animal warrior by reporting these people and helping us to stop this practice!