 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 2454, in the name of Emma Harper, on ending the illegal puppy trade. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request to speak buttons as soon as possible. I call on Emma Harper to open the debate. Seven minutes, please, Ms Harper. The motion is ending the puppy trade. 10 per cent of puppies come from licensed breeders. The other 90 per cent of dogs are imported, rescued or come from unlicensed breeders. It is estimated that illegal trafficking could be worth between £100 million to £300 million annually. It is a tax avoidance cash economy. HMRC have a special task force addressing it. I learned that many hundreds, even thousands of puppies, are trafficked illegally every year through the Port of Cairnryan. What does illegally traffic mean? It means dogs are coming into the UK, from Ireland, EU and Northern Ireland, then to Scotland without legal documents, including EU pet passports. It means coming from industrial-sized farms which do not support best animal welfare practices. I would like to credit the campaigners Eileen Bryant, who is here today, and Raymond Carville, who established the local group. They have worked closely with the SSPCA's Investigations Unit, Mark Rafferty and his team, who are also here in the gallery today, and the trading standard staff of Dumfries and Galloway Council. Those people deserve credit for their work so far to detect, deter, disrupt and even detain people who break the law so that we can put an end to the heinous illegal puppy trained. I have received advice from many campaigners, PuppyLove, Dr Mark Abraham, TVVet, who founded PuppyD campaign, and my Westminster colleagues MPs Dr Paul Monaham, Dr Lisa Cameron and my friend and colleague Richard Arcliff MP. I say to them all thank you. One of the issues that has concerned me is the welfare of these puppies that are being bred in industrial-sized numbers under factory-like conditions. As many as 500 bitches have been verified in one facility, the Animal Health and Welfare Scotland Act 2006 states, a person commits an offence if the person does not take such reasonable steps to ensure that the needs of an animal are met. Those needs are a suitable environment and diet, the need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, be housed with other animals and be protected from suffering, injury and disease. In the case of illegal trafficking, that is not happening. How can a bitch and pup receive the human contact that they need to be a good pet if they are not afforded human contact when bred in such massive numbers? In the BAFTA award-winning BBC Scotland documentary The Dog Factory, investigative reporter Sam Polling exposed the traffickers and the animal welfare issues. Some traffickers purposely starve and dehydrate the puppies because a weak puppy makes less noise, making them undetectable. Experts state that there is a very real chance that rabies will enter the UK through the dog trafficking route. The welfare crimes and abuses involved in the puppy trade can be far reaching. They start with the mother, a breeding bitch kept on a crowded puppy farm overbred and devoid of human contact. One of the farms investigated uses an automated feeding system, similar to the ones used in battery farming. Its labour saving and further reduces the need for human contact. The mother's barked constantly creates a continuous racket, which is not ideal for whelping or the birthing environment. One owner applied for a handgun licence with a specific purpose to dispose of the mother's when they were no longer able to produce litter. The bitches are discardable, this is despicable, this is illegal. Kept in freezing cold trailers elsewhere on the farm were the pups, just weeks old, separated from the mums, they were frightened and huddled together for warmth. This early separation from the mother can affect their immune system, leaving them susceptible to terminal diseases such as Parvovirus, which can kill days after an unsuspecting buyer completes the sale, often for hundreds of pounds. Several new pup owners described veterinary bills of over £1,000 so that they could help to save their brand new pups, which ultimately die a few days after the purchase. This is heartbreaking for the new owners. If the pups survive, the lack of proper socialisation at an early age will likely cause behavioural issues, making them difficult pets. On an optimistic note, action is being taken. The SSPCA's impressive operation Delphin is a partnership with the ferry operator Stenaline and Police Scotland and HMRC, which is set up to fight the illegal trade. The fact that those organisations have worked together so effectively is testament to everyone's commitment to tackle the trafficking and welfare issues that I have highlighted. Scotland is a country of animal lovers, and I believe that part of the task facing us is to make the public aware of the horrors of the trade and encourage best puppy purchase and practice. Anyone buying a puppy should ensure that they see the dogs in a homely environment with the pup's mother, and breeders should keep the pup until it is old enough to be re-homed, and they should insist on required sale documents. Legitimate breeders will not have a problem with that, and if any excuse is made as to why it is not possible, potential buyers should walk away and contact the SSPCA. No one should ever buy a puppy in a public place, such as a car park, and it should set alarm bells ringing if that is suggested by the seller. Options for future government consideration of changes in the law could include ending third-party sales, purchase directly from licensed breeders, and compiling a national linked register of approved breeders. Maybe we could allow local councils the ability to self-fund licensing. Maybe we should consider a minimum ratio of human to dogs in breeding establishment so that adequate human contact and health observation is achieved. The Twitter hashtags No Mum No Sale and Where's Mum are designed to help educate people about this. I spoke with local Canine Rescue at Glencaple over the weekend. They have 26 dogs available for re-homing, including to our Bonnie Collies, called Salmon Midge. Thank you for allowing me to highlight my concerns over animal welfare issues related to illegal trafficking of puppies. Scotland should lead the way, not only in the UK but in the world by addressing some of the issues that I have spoken about. I look forward to the Government's response and remind everyone this Christmas, hashtag No Mum No Sale. We move to the open debate. Speech is off. Four minutes, please. We have a lot of speakers, so please keep to that timing. I call Christine Grahame to be followed by Oliver Mundell. I congratulate the member on securing this debate and welcome her determination to end the heinous trade, which brings misery to the bitches and the puppies in these factories. If you have any doubt what life is for them, you can see it in the programme mentioned by my colleague. I have to say to the reporter who did the investigation to considerable risks in doing this with criminals who are running these factories. It is depressing that, somewhat, after 12 years, after I introduced my own proposed member's bill on the transportation and sale of puppies in 2004, the trade continues. However, that proposed bill was not wasted because, after discussions with Ross Finney, the minister of agriculture and so on, regulations were introduced under the Animal Welfare Scotland Act, regulations called the licensing of animal dealers, young cats and dogs. That came into force on 1 November 2008 and it attempts to regulate, for example, possession and sale of a cat or dog under 84 days old, among other things. That has been a step in the right direction, but we all know that the criminal trade continues. Today, not only, for example, are pupils placed with surrogate bitches to trick a purchaser into thinking that this is the mother, they are sold not just as my colleague has said in public places out of the back of vans and in paper ads, but now on the internet. The cross-party group for animal welfare heard at the last meeting that kittens, just me, Moggies to you and me, could go for hundreds of pounds. Animals that are often sick have not been socialised, as has been mentioned and, in fact, worse have been traumatised by their short life today. So what to do? Legislation has its place, but so has the inland revenue, as has been mentioned. Remember, Al Capone was downed by the IRS. Those traders make big bucks and police Scotland share units with the HMRC at Cosh, and I am glad to see that they are liaising. I would ask for more. Finally, without demand, there is no production line, and that is what these companion animals are to these heartless people. I would wish the Scottish Government to launch a campaign to highlight this trade, to educate people, to research the dealers and never ever to buy online. People mean well, and once the sad-eyed puppy or kitten is seen, they are not heartless though the dealers are. However, what those people should remember is that, for every kitten or puppy they buy or rescue from these criminal dealers, another is waiting on the production line. Stop the purchase and you stop the production. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to begin by congratulating Emma Harper on securing this debate. I recognise the lead that she has taken on the issue locally since her election to this Parliament in May. Indeed, having seen her Twitter feed over the past few weeks, even my Tory Brexiteer heart has been melted. I understand that a number of colleagues made some new friends in the garden lobby at lunch time, but behind all the cute and fluffy advocates of this cause, I, like Emma Harper and many others across Dumfries and Galloway, believe that we cannot afford to ignore this issue and the dark and often barbaric practices that go with it. As this motion rightly stresses, we often see the presence of the illegal trade of puppies right on our doorstep, with a considerable number of puppies being imported on an industrial scale from what can only be described as puppy factories in Ireland. They are brought in from the port of Cairnryan and one cannot help but feel recent cases in which tens of puppies have been seized at a time and which have attracted wider exposure are only the tip of the iceberg. How can it be right to exploit such young and vulnerable animals for profit? When you hear of puppies as young as four weeks old being removed from their mother after having been born into appalling conditions and then bundled into boxes without having been fed properly to be transported, it makes you feel sick. These incidents are a blight on our animal welfare standards and it's something that should worry all of us and I know it's a cause that's of great concern to my own constituents. To profit on such a scale from the untold misery and cruelty these practices bring with them is disgusting and as today's briefing from one kind rightly states, the hidden cost of this business is one of animal sickness, distress and suffering. Ailed with heartache for families who have to watch their new pets sicken and die or to grow up and be confused, unsocialised and potentially aggressive. Not only do we need to be doing more to clamp down on these practices and ensuring the message goes out loudly and clearly that Cairnryan is not the softer easy route into Scotland building on the work of the SPCA and others stakeholders at the port but we must also as Christine Grahame has highlighted do more to educate and inform those thinking of buying a dog to encourage them and ensure that they make full investigations and go through established and well-known breeders because anyone who thinks a dog is just a dog is clearly mistaken. I also think it's time to give further consideration to legislating around the sale of dogs as pets by third parties and to look to see what more can be done to protect buyers as well as the animals themselves. As the dogs trust have highlighted, we also need to look at the abuse of the pet travel scheme and at tackling the number of undeclared dogs that enter the UK each day. This is not just a Dumfries and Galloway problem and it's not just a Scottish one but nevertheless I welcome today's debate as an opportunity to shine a light on this issue and I hope that all parties will reflect on the arguments made here today and see what we can do to crack down on the illegal puppy trade and the despicable individuals who profit from it. I call Ruth Maguire to be followed by David Stewart. Thank you Presiding Officer and thanks are also due to my colleague Emma Harper for giving us the opportunity to raise awareness of the cruelty of puppy trafficking and puppy farms in her members' debate today and for her own dogged determination in campaigning on these issues. This debate is timely as at Christmas some families may be considering buying a dog as a gift. Many folk will spend months planning surprises for their families and loved ones but there's something that really shouldn't be given as a surprise or on a whim and that's a puppy. Gifts are things and unwanted things can be left or abandoned not so dogs. I do get it puppies are adorable and sweet and so cute and cuddly. I love them too and I'll confess there was a split second at our photo call today with the gorgeous rescue pump pups where I considered making a run for it with one or both of them I don't think I was alone in that but it's more than cuddles that you're signing up to it's a 15 year commitment to this new member of your family that bundle of joy is a living thing that needs a whole load of investment and attention training walking feeding and of course the bundle of joy will leave you plenty of not so joyous bundles to clean up over the years and not all of them will be outside of your home as fellow dog owners in the chamber will testify. When you're ready for a new member of the family then it would be good to consider adopting a dog from a rescue centre or by making sure that the puppy's being purchased from a reputable breeder. One simple way that this can be done is by ensuring that you see the puppy at home with a healthy mother something that the hashtag no mum no sale has done a great job in promoting. The people who run cruel puppy farms and traffic these wee animals in horrible conditions thrive on how much we love animals and on us not asking questions and not looking into where they're coming from so it's our duty to do just that. It's heartening that in this issue this is an issue which public opinion is largely united just outside of my own constituency in East Ayrshire for example recently announced plans to create Scotland's first industrial puppy farm have met with absolute outrage and opposition from concerned locals as well as from the SSPCA Police Scotland and Animal Concern Advice Line. But we need to make sure that our values, our strong opposition to the illegal trafficking of puppies and to their being farmed like commodities is translated into action by continuing to raise awareness of these issues and by encouraging people to think very carefully both about getting a puppy and about where they're getting it from. I thank Emma Harper once again for allowing Parliament to play its part in raising awareness of this really important animal welfare issue and look forward to hearing the other contributions this afternoon and working with colleagues across the chamber in the future. I call David Stewart to be followed by Willie Coffey. Thank you Presiding Officer and like others can I congratulate Emma Harper for this evening's debate and also put in record my thanks for the excellent photo op that she organised earlier. I in fact thought I was queuing up for an early New Year's sales when I joined the guard lobby and in fact it wasn't bargains people were after but with photos with puppies which I managed to fail to get in but perhaps I can do that in the future and as we've heard Presiding Officer thousands of dogs are brought into Scotland to be sold and we've also heard in this debate they're bred in substandard conditions and are regularly suffering from severe illnesses when sold. These puppies are raised and transported in conditions that foster worms and parasites or even distemper. As we've heard earlier as well some have genetic defects or personality disorders and by the time that a customer has purchased a puppy and realised that medical help was needed all too often and tragically it's too late. In my view puppy farms are the equivalent of battery farms for chickens with the corresponding concern about care about welfare and about living conditions. I believe that the puppy trade has now reached industrial proportions. The Kennel Club have very evidence that one in four puppies brought in the UK may have come from a puppy farm. Puppies are held in mass breeding operations in dark and filthy conditions and they often do not receive sufficient food, water and let alone proper immunisation. Mathers are kept in cramp cages and forced to have continuous litters and when puppies are born mothers are too weak to care for them and not given the opportunity to bond and when they get older and unable to breed they are often killed or sold to laboratories for experiment. One kind believes that the conditions I've identified breach the Scottish Government's code of practice for the welfare dogs and malnarchment does not end when puppies leave their breeding facilities. Puppies are also forced into confined boxes or crates and are dehydrated and left without food for days and the anxiety is common among dogs and transport, often for long journeys that span several countries. Those conditions have long-term effects on the puppies involved if they are not already suffering from illness when sold they are extremely vulnerable to developing one having suffering physical and mental trauma and whilst puppies suffer conditions, puppy breeders roll in the profits. SSPC reports that one gang made £8,000 a week from the sale of sick dogs and sadly puppy trading is on the rise and as we've heard falling changes to the pet travel scheme in 2012 puppy traders can more easily transport dogs into the UK and DEFRAF reported that in the first year following the changes there was a 61% increase in the number of dogs entering the UK. Of course puppy traders also use technology to make quick sales undetected. The internet allows dealers to reach a broad potential customer base while remaining anonymous. Again a survey from the UK Kennel Club found that almost one in five puppies bought in the social media or the internet die before the age of six months and twice as many puppies purchased on the internet compared to direct breeders suffer serious health problems and it's not just puppies that are at risk. Puppy sold through illegal traders are often extremely young and unvaccinated for rabies as we've already heard. Between mainland Europe and the UK the recent rise in rabies among dogs in eastern Europe has the potential to reintroduce the disease here in Scotland. When an eager future owner searches for puppies online there's no way for them to know where it's come from, what conditions it's held in or whether it is healthy. We are now, as we all know, in the midst of the Christmas season. All over Scotland children are asking Santa for a canine companion. Puppy purchases and profits from the legal puppy trade are a no-time high. Dogs are near and dear to many of our hearts and in closing if I can quote Elizabeth Parker who said, a dog is not a thing, a thing is replaceable, a dog is not. A dog is disposable, a thing is disposable, a dog is not. A thing doesn't have a heart, a dog's heart is bigger than anything you can ever own. Congratulations again to Emma Harper for her initiative in raising this issue before Parliament this afternoon. I have Willie Coffey to be followed by Mark Ruskell. Presiding Officer, thank you. I also add my congratulations to my colleague Emma Harper for bringing this matter to the attention of Parliament to raise public awareness about the illegal and inhumane puppy trade operating in Scotland. I think that the appearance of our two wee friends in the garden lobby today has certainly helped us to do this. And thanks also to the Scottish SPCA for their continuing campaign to both educate and alert to public and to do what they can to expose those who breed and trade puppies illegally, often in appalling conditions. The relevant legislation in this goes back to 1973, updated in 1999 and corresponding licensing of animal dealers regulations were introduced in Scotland in 2008, mentioned by my colleague Christine Grahame. A glance at the 1999 legislation perhaps shows how it can be overtaken and basically ignored by unscrupulous people who don't even pretend to masquerade as legitimate dog breeders. One of the clauses in section eight of the act in relation to Scotland says this, the keeper of a licensed breeding establishment is guilty of an offence if he sells to the keeper of a licensed pet shop or licensed Scottish rearing establishment, a dog which when delivered is not wearing a collar. That's hardly a deterrent these days I think and illustrates one of the difficulties we face. The laws it stands has fallen behind what some of these puppy traders will do to make their money. A lower vet and a council official can be dispatched to go and inspect premises. As far as I can see, there's not even an equivalent fit and proper person test that can be applied, similar to the test that applies in relation to private housing landlords for example. Although the revised legislations go a wee bit further in some respects, I think there's still an issue about how to really try and tackle this effectively using legislation. Part of the solution has to be in improving the level of awareness within the public to the criminal side of this trade and of course to also educate the public about the serious animal welfare issues that often lie behind it. It's also important I think not to blame our councils for having to consider dog breeding applications. They have to do that as part of the licensing scheme as set out in law. It doesn't mean they welcome or support the applications but they have to consider them. It's the law and as my colleague Ruth Maguire said, East Asia Council will be considering such an application in my constituency in January which has attracted a huge number of objections. Raising awareness of the issues can be as effective if not more effective than some aspect of the law that's clearly being flouted by some and we need to find ways of getting the public to think twice before they consider buying up privately to look out for the obvious dangerous signs. Emma Harper suggested a few measures that could help and perhaps we could also produce some clear do's and don'ts to help the public to be more aware of those dangerous signs to help them avoid the dealers whose only interest is profit and not the welfare of the dogs. Legislation can always be improved since despite the possibility of a custodial sentence it doesn't appear to be sufficient to deter some offenders and meanwhile the welfare of the dogs will suffer as a result of the treatment they receive. So in a sense the legislation helps us deal with those committee offences but the damage has already been done to the dogs. Perhaps we need more random inspections, higher fees as Emma Harper said and maybe we should be asking the public to help more directly to blow the whistle on these rogue puppy traders via a national helpline or something similar. Presiding Officer there's so much more that needs to be done to try and tackle this problem if illegal and inhumane puppy farming and trafficking. Emma Harper has done a great service today I think in highlighting this issue for the people of Scotland and I warmly congratulate her once again for doing so. Thank you. I call Mark Ruskell to be followed by Gail Ross. Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer and can I declare an interest as a councillor in Stirling and warmly thank Emma Harper for bringing this debate to Parliament this afternoon and it's true that the continued presence of the illegal puppy trade in Scotland is a marker shame on our animal welfare record. The dogs trust estimates there are around nine million dogs in the UK, the Kennel Club registers around a quarter of a million puppies each year and rescue organisations re-home around 150,000. So there's a gap here to maintain that number of nine million dogs would require hundreds of thousands more puppies to be circulated throughout the UK each year and while some of these puppies may come from legitimate breeders who are not Kennel Club registered there are clearly criminal breeders out there who are providing hundreds of thousands of puppies on an industrial scale praying on our desire to give a home to a vulnerable animal and I would urge anyone considering bringing a dog into their lives this Christmas to go instead through reputable dog shelters and re-homing charities such as the excellent Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary and I'd like to make a special mention to Bandy stray dog shelter near Stirling who do fantastic work not just with animals but also through the incredible volunteering opportunities for young people and these are facilities are vulnerable to local authority cuts and they do need our support. Now the welfare of animals kept in puppy farms has no guarantee and one kind amongst other organisations have argued that conditions on puppy farms would fail to meet the requirements of the welfare codes of practice established under the animal welfare act. For example one section of the code requires dogs to have their own bed with comfortable bedding another requires puppies to have long periods of rest or puppies in large breeding facilities are denied the opportunity to socialise with people dogs and other animals which the code describes as an essential part of early learning. Lack of hygiene, proper diet, routine health measures and veterinary attention can lead to puppies being sold to new earners with a burden of parasites, preventable infectious diseases and painful or chronic inherited conditions from which many sadly do not ever recover. The consequences of this means that unnecessary animal suffering and heartache for the puppy's new families and despite this code of practice the dogs trust to one kind of highlighted numerous cases where puppies have been bred, bred, kept and transported in poor conditions severely impacting on their health and both charities highlight the ineffective border controls and enforcement of the pet travel scheme at UK ports as a major contributing case to puppies being farmed in an inappropriate and negligent way and it's clear that there are a number of actions that need to be taken and I would urge the Scottish government to work with the Westminster government to ensure for example there are more stringent checks at UK borders there's a central database to log microchip numbers and entry dates into the UK there's a shift of enforcement responsibility away perhaps from carriers such as ferry companies to government agencies and that there is a reintroduction of further offences and increased penalties and in 2012 the Scottish government discussed introducing new laws to crack down on the sale of pets over the internet and a Scotsman article from the time reported hundreds of cases of puppies and kittens being sold online that turned out to be underage sick or not properly socialised as well as cases of illegal dog breeds being sold since then the Scottish government hasn't made steps to restrict the sale of pets over the internet and I think all the animal welfare organisations behind this debate today agree that all pets but especially dogs should only be bought after seeing them in person with their mother to ensure that they're being raised in a healthy and appropriate environment the continued sale of puppies online means that there's little or no scrutiny of the breeding living conditions of these animals so I call on the Scottish government in closing presiding officer 10 years now after the passing of the animal welfare act to step up and commit to ensuring that the welfare of our much loved animals by introducing legislation to restrict the sale of pets online. I call Gail Ross to be followed by Finlay Carson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Dogs Trust, the SSPCA and others will tell us quite rightly at this time of year that a dog is for life and not just for Christmas and in my mind that's one of the most successful advertising campaigns that there is ever been because it's a recognisable line all over and as a parliament we fully endorse this but we need to make sure that it's a warm, fun, safe life and all too often a huge percentage of puppies have a terrible start and don't even see these new homes. The introduction of the pet travel scheme or pets in 2011 saw an end to dogs having to enter a quarantine period when they came into the country provided they have a valid passport and comply with the rules of travel unfortunately it seems that some unscrupulous people have been using it as a cover for the illegal importation of puppies for commercial sale via online classified websites. The Dogs Trust investigation, the puppy smuggling scandal in 2014, found ages of puppies were falsely advertised, many of the puppies backgrounds were hidden, some were shown as UK bread when in fact they had been imported from other countries, many puppies were in poor condition, some not even surviving the trip home and those that did survive had not been socialised leading to confidence and trust issues were infested with worms, had hearing defects and various other health issues. During the first few weeks of a puppy's life it's vital that they are habituated to all the sights, sounds and smells that they are likely to come into contact with throughout their lives and given the confidence for when they do encounter new experiences and places. The way in which puppies are bred and brought up is hugely important to the kind of dogs they will grow to become and for their future physical and psychological health. This is especially important in dogs that will come into contact with children. I attended an event a few weeks ago hosted by David Stewart about the sale of exotic animals online and I was shocked to hear of some of the horrific conditions and lack of animal welfare associated with some sales and it saddens me now to learn although perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that this also extends to other animals kept as pets including dogs and cats. The lack of regulation in the online classified website market means that this is an increasingly difficult position to address and I would also call as Mark Ruskell has done for more regulation because every day popular UK websites have over 20,000 pets for sale many of them are from reputable dealers but many are not and there are also adverts placed in the local press and close scrutiny of those show the same mobile number appearing on different ads for different breeds and potential buyers need to be vigilant. Presiding Officer I fully support all the organisations in their calls for key agencies to share information including the Scottish and UK governments, for extending the waiting period to travel after rabies vaccinations from three weeks to three months, for more stringent checks at British borders, for accessible databases and microchip numbers, date of entry as also Mark Ruskell said. Puppies and dogs bring a lot of joy to families all over the country. They are bought in good faith to be a lifetime companion in a safe loving home. We cannot simply stand back and do nothing as some people profit by breeding dogs in filthy rotten conditions full of disease with some never seeing the light of day or even playing with a toy. To conclude I would like to thank all the organisations that are campaigning on this issue and also for Emma Harper for bringing this debate to chamber today and I was one of the lucky ones. I did indeed get a cuddle in the garden lobby and I'll leave it at that, thank you. Before I call Mr Harper, there's still quite a few members who would like to speak in this debate so I am minded to accept a motion without notice. That's rule 8.14.3 to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes and may I ask Emma Harper to move a motion without notice? I want to start by thanking Emma Harper for securing this important debate. As she said in her opening remarks, the illegal puppy trade is a very serious issue at the ferry port of Cairnryan in my constituency. Let's be clear, the illegal trade in puppies is big business, very big business. It's not a new business indeed, my family bred cocker spaniel is almost 100 years ago but the scale and the value has grown hugely since the expansion of the internet. Across the UK illegal trading in puppies is worth hundreds of millions of pounds and some puppy farms can produce £2.5 million worth of puppies each year. Puppies are sold wholesale. The more you buy, the cheaper they are and the puppies can be sold on for exorbitant sums with the dealer's pocket in large profits. Last month, the Sunday Post revealed the awful details behind it with an investigation into puppy smuggling from Ireland into Scotland and Scots will have been outraged to read that the puppies are bred on an industrial scale like battery chickens, they are kept in squalor, they are deliberately starved, as Emma said, to make them more docile for transport and they are smuggled into Scotland, crammed into vans and empoiled in conditions. Unsuspecting families are led to believe that their new puppies come from a loving home but it's all part of an elaborate con. The SPCA has been at the forefront of efforts to stop this humane trade in Scotland and along with colleagues across the UK, seizures have been made at various ports, including Cair Drine, where 330 puppies have been seized in the last 18 months alone. The SPCA has also taken part in a pilot scheme that gives them powers to stop and search vehicles suspected of smuggling and I'm pleased to say that Dumfries and Galloway Council have extended this scheme until next year. My colleague Maurice Golden recently wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment to Ask What discussions the Scottish Government had with the SPCA Police Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Council and other stakeholders about the illegal taken puppies and I'm pleased to report that the Cabinet Secretary supports the actions being taken by the council and that the Scottish Minister will receive a report on those efforts. I would like to ask the Scottish Government to share their support with all the members so that we can increase awareness of this issue and more needs to be done. These puppy smugglers are no amateurs. They are sophisticated and we must be sophisticated in tackling them. There are already a large number of organisations working together such as the SPCA, Police Scotland, HMRI, HMRC, Stenoline and other animal charities such as Dogtrust and Onekind. They have to be commended for their efforts but the Scottish Government should explore how this co-operation can be brought in to bring in more organisations, better share information and work more efficiently together. We must do more to inform the public and certainly a debate like this helps. Animal charities such as Blue Cross and the Kennel Club provide information on how to buy a puppy from a reputable dealer and I'd like to see the Scottish Government explore how it can spread this message further. We need to raise awareness of this trade and ensure that everyone asks the right questions before buying to ensure that only reputable breeders are used. Legislation can only do so much like drink driving or smoking in public or littering. It's not just the threat of prosecution that brings an end to it, it's because it becomes socially unacceptable and we've got to ensure that puppy trafficking becomes just that. The illegal trade in puppies is driven by one thing and that's greed. That greed leads to barbaric treatment of animals we consider to be man's best friend. It's time where he paid that friendship and put a stop to this terrible trade. I congratulate Emma Harper for securing time in the chamber to debate an issue that has clearly captured the interests of so many colleagues. Particularly this time of year, it's important to consider the lasting effects that puppy trafficking has on animals, owners and the wider public. We've all heard the familiar slogan, not least today, a dog is for life, not just for Christmas. An important message and there is much more to it than initially meets the eyes. The illegal puppy trade is estimated to make criminals millions of pounds in profit every year, but the dark underbelly holds a heavy hidden cost. Puppy farms are not something imagine any of us are comfortable thinking about but are the basis behind much of this illegal trade. Often dogs are bred in such horrendous conditions on such a mass scale. The poor animals not only go through great distress, but even after their life on the farms, they may suffer from debilitating disease and life-threatening illness. When these puppies are sold to innocently unaware owners, they are suffering. The pain and anguish that this causes both the animals and ultimately the families involved is heartbreaking to consider a little and go through and is something that we can and must take steps to avoid. As we know, many pups coming into Scotland are smuggled into the country from puppy farms in Europe, exploiting measures that are put in place to protect travelling pets. Once in the country, puppies can end up anywhere with few clues about their whereabouts. It is, of course, a very difficult stamp about all illegal trading immediately, however, there is much that can be done to help this dire situation. Public awareness is hugely important and I hope that today's debate and indeed the photo call this lunch time, which I sadly missed because I was writing this speech, will help to alert people to the dangers of puppy farming and buying a dog from an unknown source. Many people are unaware that this trade even exists, often right under their noses. Even the new pup owners are oblivious to the origin of the new pet and certainly do not know the consequences until it is too late. Just a few months ago, North Esra Council's trading standards team issued a warning about illegally trafficked pets after bulldog puppy Oscar was brought over 1,000 miles to Scotland with a fake pet passport and lack of vaccinations. Luckily, that is one of the few cases that I have had a happy ending to pup trafficking as, through the dog's trust, Oscar was quarantined, treated and rehomed when it became safe to do so. Sadly, not many cases of public trafficking end so well. Those looking to take on a pet should therefore be careful to go to a reputable source as colleagues have pointed out. Rescue centres are an excellent way of doing so. It is untrue that rescue centres only house damaged and difficult beasts. There are many deserving and loving animals in rescue centres that are just waiting for home to go to. With cats and dogs of all ages and a wide variety of breeds can be found in rescue centres across Scotland, that not only helps fight against illegal pet trade but also with related issues such as pets overpopulation. Many kittens also suffer terrible health conditions due to mass breeding, having been sold under eight weeks, leading to the weak kittens being in poor health, underweight and often ill. In North Ayrshire, the kill-winning-based cats protection league works hard to protect. Giving abandoned or unwanted animals a home is a great thing to do, and reputable rescue centres also offer the security owners that the pet that they take home is in the best health possible and has all the necessary veterinary checks. The work that rescue centres do through rehoming and targeted neutering is slowly but surely making a difference as we campaign to better regulate the pet trade. I support, as Emma Harper has introduced the phrase, better puppy purchasing practice. Colin Smyth, to be followed by Clare Haughey. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I begin by declaring an interest as a councillor in Dumfries and Galloway, where I chair the committee that oversees trading standards in the region? I can also thank Emma Harper for tabling this motion, allowing today's debate to take place, as Ruth McGrath said, at such a pertinent time just before Christmas. I'm sure we all remember that the Dogs Trust iconic slogan highlighted by Gail Ross, a dog is for life, not just for Christmas, a slogan that unfortunately is relevant today as it has ever been. In my South Scotland region, the West Calder Dogs Trust received a staggering 228 phone calls in the weeks following Christmas last year from new owners who no longer wanted their dogs and sadly 42 unwanted dogs were handed in to the Trust. The sale of puppies, as mere commodities, does not give a clear message that a dog is for life and the increasing demand, particularly for so-called designer puppies and rare breeds, is contributing towards the growth in the illegal trade of puppy trafficking and farming, increasing it to a scale not seen before. The excellent BBC documentary referred to by Emma Harper, The Dog Factory, which aired in April 2015, exposed in particular the disturbing trade in puppies reared on puppy farms in the Republic of Ireland and sold throughout Scotland, many of which were transported through the port at Cairnryan in my home region of Dumfries and Galloway. The documentary showed puppies being intensively farmed in cramped conditions on island with some premises holding it in excess of 600 breeding bitches. These dogs were not shown an ounce of compassion and were rarely handled with food, in some cases provided through automated feeding systems, meaning that they had little or no socialisation. The Scottish SPCA Special Investigations Unit was central to exposing the appalling trade featured in that documentary, and it developed Operation Delphin, a special joint operation between a range of agencies, including Police Scotland, HMRC, Stenaline, the Scottish Royal Ulster Irish and Dublin SPCA and Dumfries and Galloway Council. There is no doubt that joint working across agencies is key to helping tackling the illicit puppy trade. An example of that is the unique pilot project currently taking place within Dumfries and Galloway and highlighted by Finlay Carson, where the local council has provided five Scottish SPCA special investigations inspectors with the designated authorisation required to exercise enforcement powers under the trade in animals and related product regulations. Since the pilot began in January, seven people have been stopped at Cairnryan, who were found to be in possession of illicit puppies, resulting in 140 puppies being recovered and rehomed. There has also been a gradual but significant reduction in the number of adverts in Scotland for high-demand cross-bred puppies, and the Scottish SPCA has noticed a reduction in the number of complaints about sick puppies being bought, although clearly in her app to Christmas the fear is that this may increase again. It was therefore a pleasure to share the recent council meeting where it was agreed to extend the period of authorisation to allow Scottish SPCA inspectors to continue their excellent work in disrupting the puppy trade at Cairnryan. Although a lot of excellent work is taking place in the local communities across a range of agencies, there is a need for this Parliament and Government to do more to support that work. It is widely recognised that the current animal welfare legislation is out of date and we badly need a major overhaul of that legislation that, for example, introduced modern offences that take into account large-scale puppy farming, online trading and designer breeding, as well as a fit person check that would improve the current situation. Sharing intelligence has been crucial to the operations that I described at Cairnryan, and we need to explore how the sharing of intelligence could be made easier, perhaps by introducing a national database of licensed breeders. Consumer protection legislation could also be used to take action against the puppy sellers if they could be identified with consumers being able to seek redress and indeed trading standard Scotland is currently running an operation to gather intelligence on puppy sellers. The final point that I make is that although the welfare of puppies is the paramount concern of us all, we should recognise that it is devastating for people who have bought a puppy pattern in some cases with over £1,000, and then that puppy tragically becomes ill and dies within a week of so. The best way to avoid such tragedies is to encourage people to rehome or buy from a reputable licensed breeder and to see the puppy's mother and, indeed, father and living conditions before they buy. However, if we do demonise those consumers who have suffered by making the mistake of buying from a licensed breeder, they might not seek the advice or report the offences to trading standards due to being embarrassed. Those families who have reported their experience to trading standards could provide a home to a rescue pup, and indeed putting those families in touch with SSPCA could be another positive example of the collaborative work that has already taken place in Dumfries and Galloway and across Scotland to tackle the illicit puppy trade. Work that really does need to continue until we see an end to this despicable and unacceptable trade. I would also like to commend Emma Harper for moving this motion today and bringing the plight of these animals into the spotlight. By making life as difficult as possible for puppy traffickers and illegal breeders, we can provide the best start in life to beloved pets. The import of puppies from Ireland and elsewhere into Scotland should be of major concern to us all. It is hard to overstate the size of such operations. Thousands of dogs are illegally trafficked to Scotland every year in a multimillion pound trade which is inextricably linked to animal cruelty and distress. Puppy farmers and traffickers are high volume breeders who have little regard for the welfare of their animals. Their intent is profit. Put simply, these animals have had the worst possible start in life. Whilst the breeding of dogs is regulated under UK law, there are additional provisions in Scotland regulating the sale of dogs requiring anyone selling more than two young dogs less than 84 days old to hold the appropriate licence. Local authorities issued dog breeding licences which are issued after the inspection of premises and they impose standards and conditions relating to the suitability of accommodation, nutrition and exercise, infection and disease control, the treatment of bitches and the sale of puppies and these standards are enforced by a vet or by another professional. Obviously none of these standards apply to illegally trafficked puppies and they are not therefore offered the same protections. Far from getting a bargain, new owners are often left with an unhealthy sickly dog who may have problems with socialisation and aggression. This trade has a ripple effect which reaches far beyond the families who buy a dog. Puppies which are being brought into the UK from elsewhere in the EU should have pet passports, microchips and rabies vaccinations. With none of these legislation set up to defend the UK from rabies is being breached. In economic terms the contribution of this trade to the economy is minimal and it almost certainly places a greater burden on the taxpayer due to the tax evasion. This trade must be costing the UK millions of pounds each year on undeclared income. For example, the RSPCA found one group in Manchester who were earning £35,000 per week, the equivalent of £1.8 million of undeclared income every year. Another dealer was earning £200,000 a year trafficking puppies from Ireland into Scotland. This is big business, the scale of which may shock many. The RSPCA estimate that last year over 93,000 dogs were imported from the EU to the UK. This represents a massive increase from figures reported just five years ago when there were fewer than 2,000 puppies imported. This cruel trade has skyrocketed and has built networks of organised crime. The dogs trust believes the puppy trafficking trade may be replacing the illegal trade of cigarettes and a recent report from a cross-party group in the European Parliament estimates that pet trafficking is now the third most profitable illegal trade in the EU after narcotics and weapons. The bottom line is that as it stands the penalties for puppy trafficking are low and the profits are high. It is an attractive proposition for unscrupulous operators and for criminal gangs. I would like to recognise the actions that a range of agencies the Scottish SPCA in particular have taken to tackle puppy trafficking through Scottish ports and particularly at Cairnryan. I would like to reiterate the message from the Scottish SPCA this Christmas that the only responsible way to purchase a puppy is via a reputable dealer after visiting their premises to see the puppies with their mothers and alternatively, as the motion suggests, people should perhaps consider rehoming a dog by contacting their nearest animal rehoming centre. The last of the open speakers is Gillian Martin. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to talk about this dog. This dog is Dita and that is me and Dita on the couch. Dita is a giant schnauzer and she had been a breeding bitch and we are not entirely sure where. We are not entirely sure how many letters she had. We think that it was three and three years but it could have been more but by the time my friend rescued Dita she had had a pretty hard life and that is the dog that I want to speak about today. Dita, we know, was kept in a pen with a concrete floor in an outdoor yard. When she was rescued and she came into our lives via my friend Donald who became our new owner, she was unfit, unwell and she was absolutely filthy and terrified. Her journey from the north of England where she was found to Aberdeenshire must have been full of so many new things for Dita because Dita had never been let out or exercised, she had never been shown any affection, she never really had much human contact. All of a sudden here was this dog with someone, someone who was going to look after her in a car, she would never have been in a car and she was travelling to goodness knows where. As I say, she had never been exercised and she actually was in really quite bad condition in terms of her muscle and her makeup. She was actually overweight and that was one of the issues that Donald had to deal with. Effectively, we think that Dita had been a puppy making machine and she had outlived her usefulness and her short shelf life as a breeding bitch. I was really struck by what Emma had to say about the licensing of a gun in one of those farms and it really gave me pause for thought thinking about Dita and if Dita hadn't been rescued, what might her fate have been as she outlived her usefulness. During the first couple of months of Dita's new life with Donald, Donald had to go and spend some time in the States and she came to live with me for three weeks, really at the very early stages of our rehabilitation. Effectively, I had to teach Dita how to be a dog, how to be a pet because she didn't know. She didn't know how to run. It was the weirdest thing. I've got dogs of my own in their Hallyrack at their all over the place and we took Dita out with us and my dogs effectively taught Dita how to run. I ran with Dita and I remember uploading a video to my friend in the States to show him that we'd managed to get Dita to actually run and he was absolutely delighted. This was a major step for her. She didn't know how to play. She didn't know how to play with other dogs. She didn't know how to play with humans and she didn't know how to respond to affection. She wasn't aggressive at all. Quite the opposite. She was incredibly docile. When she got any attention or affection, it was almost like she had a question mark over her head as to what this was. Look at this picture. This is the point at which I think that Dita actually sat to respond to affection and really beyond this point, she was a limpit. She didn't leave my side at all. When Don came home, he latched on to her again and she became an excellent pet. But we think that Dita was not from an illegal breeder. We think that she was from a licensed breeder and that's the thing that I want to mention today that there's bad practice going on in dog breeding all over whether they're licensed or not. I would urge dog owners to think beyond the puppy that you want. When you look at a puppy, think of where the puppy came from. Think of the mother it came from. What's happened to that mother? What conditions was that mother in? How was that mother treated? I just want to finish this quickly by saying, and I don't want to make anyone cry here, but Dita lived her ripe old age of 10 years and 10 months and she died last month. When Emma said she was doing this debate, I thought, I'm going to speak about Dita because behind every puppy, there could be a mother like Dita who needed rescuing from that terrible situation. I now call Roseanna Cunningham to close this debate. Around seven minutes, please, cabinet secretary. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I will try to get through as much as I can in that period. Can I first start by congratulating Emma Harper for this debate and congratulations to her also for organising the puppy photo call in the garden lobby today. Puppies at Christmas suggest that Emma Harper is learning fast how to do this job. I'd also like to thank everyone who contributed to the debate. I'm grateful to have heard the concerns and views many of which I share. I'm not going to try to mention everyone, it would be almost impossible if I did, but there were a number of issues raised by more than one person. Those included concerns around human contact and automated feeding, which will be considered in our overall review of animal welfare, which is currently on-going. Oliver Mundell raised the possibility of ending third party sales. That will also be part of the overall review, which includes the breeding and sale of animals. That's a big hint for everybody who is interested in that area to look out for that and to perhaps get submissions into it. On the issue of local councils' self-funding through licensing, it should be said that under the breeding of dogs act 1973, local authorities have powers in that regard, so maybe we need to encourage them to go back and look at what they can do in respect of that. A number of members raised the issue of internet sales. Regulating the internet, including the advertising of animals, is difficult and is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government will ensure that the UK Government has our full support in tackling illegal and inappropriate sales. We have endorsed the per-advertising advisory group minimum standards and agree that those are better should be used. There were a number of other things raised that I just want to briefly mention. Members talked about the abuse of the pet travel scheme. One of the difficulties is that pet movements in the UK are exempted from the pet travel scheme, and Northern Ireland is in the UK. Therefore, movements between Northern Ireland and Scotland are not caught by that scheme. There are other issues that were taking place. One of the difficulties, of course, is that, as people will know, the breeding is often taking place in another jurisdiction entirely over which we have no direct control. That creates a number of difficulties for us. I think that there has been reference to a fit and proper person test. All of those things will be taken into consideration by us in terms of that review. For very obvious and understandable reasons, there was some focus on the situation in Dumfries and Galloway, particularly Cairn Rhine. The illegal puppy trade is a blight across the whole of Scotland, but we know that Cairn Rhine is a main entry port for those unfortunate puppies. Their illegal importation is therefore a matter very much at the heart of many in the region and those who represent them. One of my veterinary advisers has been attending meetings of the local group, comprising residents, local authority, transport companies and the SSPCA. They keep me informed of the situation on the ground and this will continue to be the case. It was encouraging that the last meeting included representatives from some of the Northern Irish enforcement authorities. They are co-operating and sharing intelligence and are increasing checks to detect and stop illegal movements before they leave Northern Ireland. I would also like to particularly praise the way that the local authority and the SSPCA have collaborated over the last year to intercept and turn back illegal consignments at Cairn Rhine, as well as the continuing vital work that the SSPCA does in gathering evidence for prosecution of those involved in illegal selling of puppies after import. Turning to the demand for puppies, which quite rightly was raised by many people, there is already a great deal of information available to those wishing to buy a puppy. The code of practice for the welfare of dogs, approved by the Scottish Parliament in 2010, advises potential purchasers on all the aspects to consider when obtaining a puppy and how to purchase it from a reputable source. The code of practice also provides details for some of the best-known other sources of information, offering advice on the purchase of a puppy, including seeing it with its parents where possible. Sadly, many buyers act on impulse without seeking information beforehand and will still take delivery of an animal in the most unlikely of places, perhaps wrongly believing that there is such a thing as a cup price pup. By doing that, they unwittingly at best provide a market that can be exploited by puppy traffickers. There is also a tendency for well-meaning buyers to want to rescue puppies that may be sick or are from dubious sellers. Unfortunately, that simply continues to fuel the trade. If rescue is the intent, there are plenty of well-known establishments whose premises can be visited and who will already have brought puppies and dogs back to health before trying to re-home them. They should be the first port of call for anyone who wants to take on a rescue dog. Christine Grahame Can I advise the cabinet secretary that, in fact, Edinburgh cat and dog home do not re-home over Christmas new year? You can sort of reserve, but they do not like them being re-homed over that period because of the activities within a household. Roseanna Cunningham The Scottish Government is well aware of the public concerns about the breeding and sale of puppies and, indeed, cats, rabbits and exotic pets. Those concerns have been raised in meetings with stakeholders as part of our review of pet welfare legislation. Again, I invite people to submit to that if they have a particular interest. However, developing new legislation is not the only answer. To investigate that further, the Scottish Government commissions on social science research from Northumbria University to consider the demand side of the trade and illegal puppies. We should receive that by next April. The research should provide valuable insights into the attitudes of potential buyers and how to influence them. By identifying the most effective ways to communicate messages about responsible buying, I think that the Scottish Government and others could ideally use that to achieve a significant reduction in the illegal trade. I hope that Christine Grahame and others who raised that particular issue welcome that research. It will also offer an estimate of the actual number of legal and illegal sales of puppies in the UK and might help to provide enforcement agencies with information that can help to disrupt illegal trade. I have just about one more minute of words if I may go over time by that. However, the thing that I want to say in closing is that we should be under no illusions. The movement of dogs between Northern Ireland and Scotland will not be easy to disrupt. There are no animal health restrictions on the free movement of pet animals between those two parts of the UK. Just as there are no restrictions on movements of dogs to Scotland from England or Wales, although poor welfare conditions in transit can, of course, be dealt with when they are detected. That sounds gloomier than I hope the position actually is or will become. When the research concludes that we should be better placed to influence the illegal trade in puppies, whether they are imported or native-born, by working to reduce the size of the market and the opportunities for sellers, we will also continue to work closely with the pet animal advertising group and support their efforts in this area, which seem to have some effect in encouraging more responsible advertising of animals. We are also consulting with local authorities and animal welfare organisations, as I have already indicated. However, the key message remains that the illegal trade in puppies from Ireland and elsewhere could be seriously disrupted if every single puppy buyer first considered rehoming an animal from a centre in Scotland or if they must buy a puppy insist that they always see it first with its mother at the breeder's premises. Of course, remember, especially at this time of year, as others have said, that a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.