Belshaw Zoe, Youens Elizabeth, Lord Michelle, Packer Rowena M A
EviVet Evidence-Based Veterinary Consultancy, Nottingham NG2 5HY, UK.
Independent Researcher, Gloucester GL15 4NT, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 25;15(15):2192. doi: 10.3390/ani15152192.
The United Kingdom (UK) is a key market for puppy importation from the European Union (EU), as demand for puppies exceeds domestic supply. Many are illegally imported. Potential welfare risks to the puppies and negative impacts of these on their prospective owners are well documented, but UK residents' perspectives on the trade are not. This study aimed to use an online survey to capture UK residents' understanding of the benefits and risks to imported puppies of being imported from Romania for sale in the UK, and the benefits and risks of buying an imported puppy for their prospective owners. Eligible responses were collected from = 7184 participants; 4000 randomly selected free-text comments underwent content analysis. Respondents displayed a limited understanding of the nature and range of risks potentially associated with puppy importation. Worryingly, many viewed an EU-born puppy as equivalent to one bred in the UK; others considered them as "rescued". Synonyms used for non-endemic diseases that might be carried by the puppies varied widely, suggesting substantial confusion may exist on this topic. The UK public may underestimate the potential risks associated with buying a puppy bred in the EU, which plays into the hands of illegal puppy traders.
英国是从欧盟进口幼犬的主要市场，因为对幼犬的需求超过了国内供应。许多幼犬是非法进口的。幼犬面临的潜在福利风险以及这些风险对其未来主人的负面影响已有充分记录，但英国居民对该贸易的看法却没有。本研究旨在通过在线调查了解英国居民对从罗马尼亚进口到英国销售的幼犬所面临的益处和风险，以及购买进口幼犬对其未来主人的益处和风险的理解。从7184名参与者中收集了符合条件的回复；对随机选择的4000条自由文本评论进行了内容分析。受访者对幼犬进口可能涉及的风险的性质和范围了解有限。令人担忧的是，许多人认为在欧盟出生的幼犬等同于在英国繁殖的幼犬；其他人则认为它们是“被救助的”。幼犬可能携带的非本地疾病的同义词差异很大，表明在这个问题上可能存在很大的混淆。英国公众可能低估了购买在欧盟繁殖的幼犬的潜在风险，这正中非法幼犬交易商的下怀。
