Irish puppy farm shut down

Puppy farming is legal in the Irish Republic

A puppy farm has been shut down in the Irish Republic for breeding dogs in squalid conditions.

Some of the animals have been taken into care in Northern Ireland following separate raids at two locations in the midlands.

The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals described the farm as one of the worst cases of cruel neglect it had seen.

The farm received a warning before Christmas but when inspectors returned they found conditions had worsened.

The ISPCA has asked gardai to file a book of evidence with a view to prosecuting those responsible.

The animals are being cared for at the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals centre in County Antrim.

"For too long now people have been happy to go out and buy animals like these and not question where they have come from," said Stephen Philpott of the USPCA.

'Profit'

"You can see the condition these animals are in tonight they are in absolutely appalling condition.

"This is negligence on a massive scale and these people don't particularly care about the animals, they are just profit to them."

ISPCA director of operations Alastair Keen said the puppies were living in 10 to 12 inches of mud and rolling around in their own urine and faeces.

They had no access to shelter or clean water and many had mange and more serious conditions.

The raid formed part of an ongoing crackdown against puppy farms in the Irish Republic where a loophole in the law means no licence is needed to breed and sell dogs.

It is believed Ireland has the largest puppy farming trade in the EU and about 30 farms are currently being investigated by the ISPCA.

The raids comes less than a month after inspectors removed 110 dachshunds from a farm in County Tipperary because of poor conditions.