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Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and chair of The EU Dog & Cat Alliance, has announced its delight at the European Parliament’s adoption of the Animal Health Law, a policy they describe as an important development in the European Union’s legislative landscape, streamlining almost 40 legal acts related to animal health into a single law and regulating transmissible animal diseases.

The charity says:

The EU Dog & Cat Alliance is a leading European expert on companion animal welfare, encompassing over 55 organisations from over 20 member states, and has been working with EU policymakers since 2014 on issues relating to animal welfare.

Simona Lipstaite, European Policy Advisor at Dogs Trust, comments:

“This new legislation represents a huge potential step forward for companion animal welfare as it creates a legal framework for the introduction of compulsory identification and registration systems of pet animals across Member States. We are encouraged by the Commission’s recent statement that it intends to start preparatory work on a delegated act to this end.

Compulsory microchipping is already in place in Northern Ireland and comes into effect in England, Scotland and Wales in April, and Dogs Trust looks forward to translating its experience and expertise in this area to the European level. As the Animal Health Law has now been formally adopted and there are no more legal barriers, it is time to take this next important step in promoting animal health and welfare, public health and consumer protection.

The new Regulation will also require all professional pet keepers and sellers in the EU to be registered, improving standards across Member States. Although the Regulation does not contain provisions which specifically regulate animal welfare, we believe that this is nonetheless an area that must be addressed on an EU level in the future, and we urge the Commission to prepare a new animal welfare strategy as the next step in ensuring that the EU remains a global leader in animal welfare standards.”

What is Animal Health Law?

The new regulation establishes a single regulatory framework for animal health which integrates, streamlines and simplifies the existing legislation. Intended as a framework, the regulation itself only lays down general principles and basic rules.

Detailed provisions are to be established later by delegated or implementing acts (taking over the elements of existing legislation which currently function well). This should allow the flexibility to react to new situations.

The new law would also place stronger focus on prevention and be better aligned to international standards, particularly the OIE. The scope of the regulation would cover transmissible animal diseases and all categories of animals: terrestrial and aquatic, kept animals of all types (farm and pet animals, animals kept for research purposes, for leisure etc.) and also to some extent wild animals (where there is a risk of transmitting a disease to other animals or to humans).*

*Source: European Parliament Animal Health Law: Rules on transmissible animal diseases. February 2016.

Rooney the dog, from London, who developed a ‘smokers’ cough’ is now almost completely cured – less than 12 months after his owner kicked the habit.

Vets at PDSA’s Bow Pet Hospital warned Kathleen Dove last summer that her smoking was potentially contributing to a persistent cough her beloved Jack Russell terrier cross Rooney (11) was suffering from.

The 68-year-old, who had smoked up to 20 cigarettes a day from the age of 15, immediately quit and says it has made a huge difference to Rooney’s health.

She said: “I always tried not to smoke around him but the vets told me that my habit could still have been affecting him and making his cough worse.

“I took their advice on board and decided to quit straight away. I haven’t looked back since and I’m so glad I did it because the difference in Rooney is amazing. His cough is almost non-existent now and he seems much better.”

Kathleen says she hasn’t noticed much difference to her own health since quitting, and that Rooney was the main reason she quit.

She said: “I’ve had him since he was a puppy and he was named after the footballer Wayne Rooney because he was such a star player and my dog used to love playing with a football.

“As I’ve got older I’ve gradually reduced how many cigarettes I had a day but I didn’t realise that my habit could have been affecting his health.

“I would urge anyone who smokes and has a pet to consider quitting for their sake. At the very least it’s important to go outside to smoke to limit the amount of fumes they have to breathe in.”

Ahead of National No Smoking Day tomorrow (Wednesday, March 9), PDSA warned pet owners that smoking around their pets could be harming their four-legged friends’ health and cutting short their lives.

Second-hand smoke has long been linked to potentially fatal diseases in humans, including lung cancer and heart disease. However, the vet charity says the impact of passive smoking on pets may be less recognised but is just as serious.

PDSA vet Vicki Larkham-Jones said: “Prolonged exposure to smoking can cause chronic breathing difficulties or cancer in pets as well as people. Thanks to funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery we’re spending more time with clients, like Kathleen, who smoke and encouraging them to think about their four-legged friend’s health, as well as their own, before they light up.

“If people feel they can’t stop smoking or don’t wish to, then we would urge them to consider going outside to smoke.

Then their pet isn’t forced to breathe in the harmful toxins.”

For more information about PDSA or to access free online pet health advice visit www.pdsa.org.uk

The Kennel Club (KC) is facing pressure from pet owners on the eve of its prestigious dog show Crufts as 25,000, including a host of celebrities, sign an online petition asking it to tackle a health crisis affecting Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They may be one of Britain’s best-loved breeds but these adorable dogs also suffer from shocking hereditary health problems.

Supporters of the petition, including Craig Revel Horwood, Deborah Meadon, Binky Felstead and the RSPCA, want the KC to make testing mandatory for the two most serious conditions: a heart disease called MVD and SM, a distressing neurological disorder caused by dogs being bred with skulls too small for their brains.

“The KC’s breed health survey, published last month, reveals Cavaliers are dying 17 months earlier than a decade ago,” says Margaret Carter, who started the petition. “Research proves that breeding from dogs tested clear increases the chances of healthy puppies yet the KC refuses to take proper action. Families are seeing their loved pets living in pain and dying young. Many have written to the Prime Minister in the hope the KC can be shamed into living up to its claim ‘to promote in every way the general improvement in dogs’.”

TV vet Emma Milne adds: “When will the KC stop seeing pound signs and start seeing sense. The UK is way behind much of Europe where other countries have seen dramatic improvements in disease prevalence in Cavaliers through robust testing.”

The BBC ditched its coverage of Crufts after the 2008 documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed revealed top show Cavaliers with inherited disease being used for breeding against veterinary advice. Despite promises of action from the KC, campaigners say little has been done to improve the lot of Cavaliers in the years since and that many successful show breeders continue to set a bad example by ignoring breeding guidelines.

Mother-of-three Charlotte Mackaness signed the petition on behalf of her Cavalier, Beebee, who started yelping in pain from SM when around six months old. Now three, she takes a cocktail of powerful painkillers every day. “Beebee came from a breeder who has won Crufts’ best of breed titles many times and who came recommended by the breed club. Sadly, my family has learnt that looks and money seem to count more than these dogs’ health.”

According to long-time owner Nicki Hughes: “The KC and breed clubs would like people to think it’s just backyard breeders and puppy farmers that don’t health test. I lost my beloved Teddy at six. He had MVD and SM. His breeder? An international judge. There is an official CM/SM screening programme but breeders have boycotted it.”

Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood and his partner Damon Scott own two Cavaliers with health issues. “It’s wrong that there is such a high probability that a Cavalier with inherit a terrible disease,” says Damon, who provided the voice over for a Cavalier version of the 80s hit The Final Countdown. It has had 54,000 views on Facebook alone and stars the couple’s Cavalier, Sophie, who has heart disease. “Giving a voice to these dogs was really important to us. This message and their plight needs to be heard. I find it unbelievable that the Kennel Club won’t do the right thing,” he says.

View The Final Countdown movie at [youtube http://youtube.com/w/?v=tL2NhnhOcNM]

See the petition at

Numerous famous faces are backing the campaign, including Tony Parsons, Linda Robson, Fern Britten, TV vet Mark Evans and many others:

“Please can I ask you to sign and retweet this petition to save dogs’ lives”, Pixie Lott urged her Twitter followers.

“We need to make sure all Cavaliers are health tested before breeding,” believes Craig Revel Horwood

“We should be breeding for health, not creating problems for our loved pets,” says Deborah Meadon, who has been a staunch supporter of the Cavalier health campaign.

The RSPCA has welcomed the European Parliament’s adoption of a resolution formally calling for action to tackle the growing illegal trade in pets.

The Parliament (EP) is calling on the European Commission to take action to try to stop the illegal trafficking of dogs and cats.

The issue has become a major concern for the RSPCA, and other animal welfare organisations, since the Pet Travel Scheme was introduced in 2003.

This system, which was designed to allow people to travel with their pets for holidays and for shows, is now all too often exploited by animal traffickers for commercial purposes. In 2015 alone, 93,424 dogs were imported into the UK for commercial and noncommercial reasons and 85,730 of those came from within the EU.

The RSPCA is particularly concerned about the number of puppies being imported, under this scheme, from European countries where large-scale puppy farms are known to operate.

The charity’s puppy report – ‘Sold a pup? Exposing the breeding, trade and sale of puppies’ – published last week, lifts the lid on the scale of the puppy trade and market in England, and also revealed what countries appear to be fuelling the problem (see graphic above), as well as the trade routes likely used to illegally import these pups.

The EP Resolution, coordinated by Renate Sommer MEP, was underpinned by Eurogroup for Animals’ Protect Our Pets campaign.

The RSPCA estimates, in its recent report, that more than 70,000 puppies were imported into the UK – 30,000 from illegal farms in Romania, Hungary, Poland and Lithuania; and 40,000 from Ireland – over the last 12 months.

David Bowles, assistant director of external affairs at the RSPCA, said: “There is a huge demand for particular breeds and designer crossbreeds in the UK and responsible, regulated breeders cannot produce enough puppies. This means that unscrupulous and unregulated breeders and dealers are filling the gap with puppies, many of which are illegally trafficked into the country.

“A lot of these puppies are bred in horrendous conditions by large-scale breeders with little or no consideration for the welfare of the animals themselves. They may be taken from their mothers when they are too young and transported across the EU without vaccinations or legitimate paperwork.

“Many of these puppies contract life-threatening diseases and are at risk of developing behavioural issues in later life.

“That’s why we’ve launched the Scrap the Puppy Trade campaign, to tackle this issue head-on. We want the Government in England to introduce legislation which would help bring this illegal – but profitable – trade to an end.

“Just two of the recommendations we’re making to Westminster is to increase risk-based spot checks at Dover to enforce the rules on non-commercial trade in dogs and puppies; and to transfer the responsibility for implementing and enforcing the PETS system from the ferry companies to the statutory border control agency.”

According to Eurogroup for Animals, the trafficking of pets is estimated to be the third most profitable illegal trade after weapons and drugs within the EU. And a recent study found that the trade in cats and dogs in the EU was worth €1.3 billion annually.

A Eurogroup for Animals spokesperson said: "This Resolution sends a clear signal to the European Commission that it is time to act to stop this horrific, illegal trade. They have the powers in place, they have the evidence from their own study, and now they have the clear political will from the elected representatives of the Union too. My sincere thanks to Renate Sommer and to all those who voted for the motion."

Renate Sommer MEP, the instigator of the Parliament’s Resolution, added: "This Resolution seeks to mitigate the most opaque elements of the Pet Travel Scheme, namely by harmonising the national identification and registration systems and requirements for pets across the EU. Such a harmonisation would provide greater certainties over the age of any given animal, its vaccination status, and would allow for proper cross-border traceability.

"Many Member States already have systems for the identification and registration of pets. We are not seeking to reinvent the wheel here – we do not see the need for some sort of single EU level database. All we need is to have the same requirements, with compatible systems in each Member State. This should neither be beyond the wit of EU Governments, nor should it cause any concerns with the Commission over the issue of subsidiarity.

"The evidence is clear, as is the solution. As well as being our companions, pets do pose serious transmissible disease threats to animals and humans alike. I now hope that the Commission will have the courage to take the necessary political decision, based on our Resolution, so that we can end this cruel inhumane trade, and so that Europe’s pets, animals and owners alike are better protected in the future."

Vet charity PDSA is advising owners to make sure their pets’ vaccinations are up to date following a confirmed case of leptospirosis – a highly contagious and potentially fatal infection.

Senior Vet at Aberdeen PDSA Pet Hospital, Fiona Gregge, explained: “Leptospirosis is quite rare; the bacteria are spread through the urine of an infected animal, often rats. But flooding can increase the risk of contracting the disease, which causes symptoms including vomiting, jaundice, lethargy, fever and organ failure – even with treatment it is often fatal.”

The dog that had contracted leptospirosis received intensive treatment, but sadly died despite the best efforts of the vets and nurses at Aberdeen PDSA. Leptospirosis is also zoonotic, which means it can be passed from animals to humans, although the chances of this happening are very small.

Fiona continued: “It’s incredibly sad to see a pet suffering like that, especially when a quick vaccination or booster could have prevented this. I’d advise all owners to make sure their pets’ vaccinations are up to date, but particularly those in areas that have experienced flooding in recent months. Leptospirosis usually requires an annual booster, but check with your vet if you’re not sure.”

Vaccinations can also protect against a range of easily spread diseases, such as parvovirus and distemper in dogs, feline influenza and leukaemia in cats, and myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease in rabbits. Further information about vaccinations is available on PDSA’s website www.pdsa.org.uk/pethealth.

Thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, PDSA will deliver 60,000 vaccinations to pets in 12 months. PDSA says around 20% of the cases it sees could be prevented, and funding from players has enabled the charity to set up a team of dedicated Pet Wellbeing Champions – one at each of its 51 pet hospitals. These veterinary staff are able to identify vulnerable pets in need of preventive healthcare and educate more owners about the benefits of vaccinations, neutering and flea and worming treatments.

Aberdeen PDSA Pet Hospital provides free veterinary treatment to the sick and injured pets of people in need. The dedicated team can see as many as 80 pets a day, providing more than 23,000 treatments a year