Warning! Dogs at risk

NEW ZEALAND has so far been relatively free of close contact with the exceptionally poor record many Asian countries have towards canine care. But in recent weeks we have had reason to take notice - first, because of a revelation that an Asian group was trying to buy large breeds like the Newfoundland and St Bernard for meat production; and more recently another Asian group has been purchasing dogs of many breeds and engaging in lies and deception to prevent breeders from discovering the destination of these dogs. A breeder who almost allowed one of her pups to be bought by such a group tells the following story:

"In February this year I had a call from a man from Singapore based in Auckland. He said he was in New Zealand on business and wanted to purchase a puppy to take back to Singapore for a good friend of his, to show over there. He came to our home with two friends to view the puppy and tried to knock down the asking price.

"After accepting our price he paid a deposit and said he would call me in a week or two when he had sorted out the import permit for Singapore. The three men were very convincing, telling me how they all had dogs living in their homes in air-conditioning and they were very well cared for as my puppy would be. They also said they had purchased other puppies (12 altogether) such as rottweilers and a rare hairless breed.

"I was a little taken aback by someone buying this many dogs, but he said they all had wonderful homes to go to in Singapore. He wanted to keep my bitch puppy in his supposedly fully fenced home in Auckland until the time she would fly out. I said I would keep hold of the puppy here until the time of export. He was a little uncomfortable with this and asked if he could collect her the day before her flight, to which I agreed.

"Two weeks passed and I had not heard whether or not he had a permit, or any arrangements for the puppy's travel. I called him and he informed me she would fly out in about two days. I told him again she could not travel without an import permit and a MAF export certificate, which was needed within three days of flight.

"He said he would get back to me. He had a friend going back who would sort out the permit over there. He also asked me to have the puppy put into his name with a Singapore address as the puppy was now going to be his and was no longer going to his friend back in Singapore.

"Many questions came to mind. Another two weeks passed and he called with the export permit number. He said it was a group number for all the dogs rather than a permit just for my puppy. He also proceeded to ask if I had more puppies for sale and outlined to me of his long-term plan to buy dogs from breeders for the purpose of breeding for export to Asia. He said he had purchased some land in Pukekohe and would be setting up kennels for this purpose - puppy farming for export!

"He also asked me if I would be interested in being part of his puppy export service. I asked him if my puppy was going to be part of this breeding programme. He assured me that she was going to Singapore in a couple of days for the purpose of showing. When I questioned as to what flight she would be travelling on he could not tell me but said it was being organised. He said he would pick up the puppy the next day and put her in to a kennel in Auckland in which all the 12 dogs were being held, for a couple of days until she flew out of NZ.

"I then called the MAF vet who informed me every dog has to have its own permit. I also called the Auckland kennel where all the dogs were supposed to be held and they said they had no dogs there under that name and no dogs there going to Singapore. They also informed me they were aware of the Singapore crowd and said the puppies were not going to Singapore but were being hidden elsewhere in Auckland. I rang the NZKC and unfortunately some breeders had already sold their puppies to him. I also rang the SPCA, which was aware of a group of Asians who were trying to buy larger breed dogs such as St Bernards to send back to their countries for meat on the table, so precautions were already in place.

"At that point I called the sale off and my puppy was saved from a future as a puppy machine (or worse) because I took the time to check it out. If you are approached by anyone from abroad wanting to take your puppies back to their country please check them out, ask the questions and make sure every procedure is done correctly and openly. Call the NZKC or even the SPCA - they often know what is going on and can give you a word of warning if need be. Breeders, please be careful."

From such first-hand information we can now assume that New Zealand is being seen as an easy target. Unlike other western countries that have all but closed the door to puppy farming, we have not had any experience with such foreign practices and the need is for breeders to close ranks very quickly.