Northern Ireland’s biggest council area has no registered puppy breeders on their books, yet has tens of thousands of dogs in the local population.
The entire country has 45 breeders who have licensed their business with their local authority, and a registered total of 1,732 breeding bitches.
But it is estimated that Northern Ireland's dog numbers could be rocketing towards the half a million figure, with official and out-dated numbers still sitting at 302,000 and no further reliable checks available.
Belfast City Council has no breeder registrations, nor do Derry and Strabane District Council or Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council despite a combined population of more than 635,000 people.
Belfast Live can reveal:
- No council monitors the number of litters produced by breeding bitches on their books
- No council monitors the frequency of litters produced despite a legal limit of three per dog
- The council with the highest number of breeding bitches cannot say how many are in each kennel
- Inspections of dog breeding establishments following the granting of a licence varies across each council, and
- Details of registered breeders are not readily available to the public
Robin Newton, the outgoing MLA who has been pushing for tighter legislation on registered breeders, says change is vital to protect the welfare of thousands of dogs changing hands in Northern Ireland every year.
The figures, which come directly from research carried out by Eva Henderson for Mr Newton, throw up more questions than answers and make for uncomfortable reading for many.
A dog lover himself, he says he finds it incredible that large swathes of the country have no licensed dog breeders yet puppies are changing hands frequently using social media and selling sites to advertise.
Mr Newton said: “You have to ask yourself where are all of the dogs are coming from, if not from licensed breeders? The answer is simple... They are being illegally bred, bred without licence, bred without any registration and often without care or compassion.
"And without better information required by councils, there is no way to verify accuracy of claims made by the breeding establishments either.
“Many dogs in this country are used as battery animals used to pump our product, in this case vulnerable puppies which are sold at extortionate prices to members of the public who cannot seem to resist.
“We are hopeful to get Lucy’s Law NI through the first reading as a way to protect these animals and the people who fall for puppy farmers’ trade. The cruelty of puppy farming in Northern Ireland is a blight on our society.
"Many breeding dogs spend a lifetime locked in small cages and bred until they are of no further use. Their life is an awful existence before they're discarded, dumped like rubbish of no value.
"Ending this illegal and cruel business is the responsibility of us all and ensuring proper registration and responsible breeding is a start.
"The public need to know where to go to find a registered and inspected breeder. If you were to try to find one in Belfast you couldn't because they don't exist. They don't exist in the Derry and Strabane area either and they don't exist in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area either.
"But even trying to find the ones who are licensed is a challenge - there is no central information that the public go to in order to find a pup.
“Registration of breeders and close scrutiny of the same breeders is vital. But even registration does not ensure good welfare and proper care.
"So inspections must be vigorous and some done without warning to ensure the inspectors know exactly what's happening on site.
“Registration of a breeding facility must be set against a strict criteria but at the moment even the numbers of inspections vary widely between council areas too.
"We know that the law states one dog should only be allowed to have a maximum of three litters but we now there are loopholes and we know unscrupulous breeders are managing their numbers. It has to stop."
In Newry and Mourne, breeders can expect a full pre-arranged inspection on the annual review of their licence and if they are the subject of a complaint.
A single inspection can be carried out per year in Ards and North Down, Causeway Coast and Glens, Lisburn and Castlereagh and Mid and East Antrim.
And two council inspections can be expected annually in Mid and East Antrim and in Fermanagh and Omagh which has the highest number of officially listed breeding bitches at 836 in eight establishments.
Mr Newton, who was deselected by his party in early February, says he is hopeful once the first reading of Lucy’s Law is completed at Stormont, it will be carried on after he steps away from politics on March 25.
He said: “This is a deeply emotional cause and one that is very personal to me. I am disappointed not to be allowed to continue in my position and see it through.
"But I have met no one so far who disagrees with my thoughts on this and I’m hopeful Lucy’s Law NI will be driven through with care and compassion by other members. It is quite simple, all animals should be treated with compassion and this new law is vital for the welfare of our loyal companions.
“If we cannot do that, if we don't accept that we have a duty to protect the vulnerable, if we don’t act to do that, then we will have failed them.”
The Welfare of Animals (Dog Breeding Establishments and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 requires that anyone wishing to operate a dog breeding establishment must first obtain a licence from their district council.
And it remains an offence to operate a dog breeding establishment without a licence or contravene any condition of a licence to keep a dog breeding establishment. The penalty for these offences is a fine not exceeding £5,000 or a six month jail term.
Population per council area and number of REGISTERED dog breeding establishments and breeding dogs :
- Belfast 341,877 : Dog breeding establishments : 0
Derry and Strabane 150,679 : Dog breeding establishments: 0
Antrim and Newtownabbey 142,492 : Dog breeding establishments : 0
Lisburn and Castlereagh 144,381 : Dog breeding establishments: 1 with 9 breeding bitches registered
Mid and East Antrim 138,773 : Dog breeding establishments: 1 with 8 breeding bitches registered
Causeway Coast and Glens 144,246: Dog breeding establishments: 3 with 19 breeding bitches registered
Ards and North Down 160,864 : Dog breeding establishments: 4 with at least 53 breeding bitches registered
- Mid Ulster 147,392 : Dog breeding establishments: 8 with 386 breeding bitches registered
- Fermanagh and Omagh 116,835 : Dog breeding establishments : 8 with 836 breeding bitches registered
- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 214,090: Dog breeding establishments : 9 with 288 breeding bitches registered
- Newry, Mourne and Down 180,012 : Dog breeding establishments: 11 with 133 breeding bitches registered
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