Charity urges people to buy mixed breed dogs to curb pedigree puppy thefts
Animal rights group SAFE is appealing to dog lovers to buy mixed breeds from shelters to deter pedigree puppy thefts.
The plea follows an apparent spike in valuable purebred dogs being stolen around the country.
Chief executive officer Debra Ashton said SAFE had seen a rise in the number of stolen pedigree pooches reported on social media.
“It's cruelty in the highest degree both for the animals and for the families that are having their dogs stolen.
“This is completely unacceptable and the community together needs to fight against it.”
Ashton recommends people go to animal charities which are “screaming out” for good loving homes instead of buying expensive pedigrees from “puppy mills”.
This could help to “nip the theft business in the bud” by reducing demand, she said.
Ashton urged people to be aware of animals being stolen for dog fighting to speak out, and to question new pet owners about where they got their pedigrees.
The price of puppies is believed to be skyrocketing due to more demand after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I’ve heard figures of around $4000 to $8000 which is phenomenal for purchasing a dog,” Ashton said.
Cavoodle puppies – a hybrid of a cavalier king charles spaniel and a poodle – are selling on Trade Me for $6000, golden retriever puppies for $4000 and Dobermans for $3000 a pup.
Trade Me has seen 28,000 searches for puppies in the last week - a 34 per cent jump on the same time last year.
Would you prefer to buy a pedigree pooch or a mixed breed puppy?
Why?
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Auckland Harbour Bridge summer works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is carrying out essential maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge this December and January. The southbound clip-on lanes will be closed (24/7) from 26 December to 5 January for road resurfacing. Night-time lane restrictions will be in place throughout the summer for recoating work on the bridge. Traffic will still be able to travel in both directions at all times.
Poll: 🗑️ Would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Aucklanders, our weekly rubbish collections are staying after councillors voted to scrap a proposed trial of fortnightly pick-ups.
We want to hear from you: would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Keen for the details? Read up about the scrapped collection trial here.
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82.7% Same!
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