A CAMPAIGN to outlaw ‘third-party’ puppy farms could receive official support from Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Lucy’s Law promotes an immediate ban on all commercial third-party sales of dogs.

Third-party sellers are dealers, people who are not dog breeders, and who operate as an intermediary between the breeders and the public.

Members from the council’s health social care and wellbeing scrutiny committee will consider a motion from Cllr Eluned Stenner on Tuesday, May 1 and make a recommendation to council.

“Caerphilly County Borough Council adds its support to the Lucy’s Law National Campaign to ban and outlaw third-party puppy farming,” said the cabinet member for environment and public protection and New Tredegar ward member.

“That Caerphilly County Borough Council will add its name to the growing list of supporting organisations and will proactively highlight the campaign to our residents across the county borough.

“This council requests that the leader of the council, Cllr David Poole, writes to UK Government, supporting the call for urgent action on this matter.”

The motion is supported by three fellow cabinet members: councillors Carl Cuss, Sean Morgan and Lisa Phipps.

In the UK, commercial third-party sellers must be licensed as a pet shop in accordance with the Pet Animals Act 1951.

New rules were published by the Government earlier this year concerning England, but the law is slightly different in Wales.

Although pet shops are covered by the same act, devolved legislation covers dog breeders – the Animal Welfare (Breeders of Dogs) (Wales) Regulations 2014.

The Welsh Government is monitoring developments over the border, while expressing general support for a third-party sellers ban.

The Lucy’s Law campaign was established in 2017 and is supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG), chair by the SNP MP Dr Lisa Cameron.

It is named after Lucy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was rescued from a Welsh rescue centre after spending a number of years on a puppy farm.

A petition linked to Lucy’s Law, which has received 121,256 at the time of publication, will be discussed in Parliament next month.