Approximately 19,000 of the more than 100,000 dogs registered in Flanders each year come from abroad, and new agreements are being struck in order to ensure transparency.
“The supply cannot keep up with the great demand for puppies in Flanders,” Paul Decooman of the professional federation of the pet sector Ani-zoo told Het Nieuwsblad.
For people who adopt a puppy in Flanders, there’s a 20% chance it came from abroad.
The vast majority come from Eastern Europe, and more specifically from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Decooman said.
Part of the reason is that local breeders in Flanders cannot keep up with demand, but another reason is that people are often looking for specific breeds that are rarely bred in Belgium, such as French bulldogs, pugs, English bulldogs and cavaliers.
Money-motivated breeders prioritise profit over puppies’ health
Not coincidentally, these are also the breeds that are in demand by so-called ‘bread-breeders,’ or those who run puppy mills, who are known for wanting to make a lot of money by selling popular dog breeds without considering the welfare of the animals.
Many people question the conditions in which the animals are bred in Eastern European countries, including practices whereby vaccinations are tampered with in dogs that are imported from these countries, resulting in the possibility of diseases that are not only dangerous to the dogs themselves, but also to public health.
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Flemish Minister of Animal Welfare Ben Weyts (N-VA) is therefore making concrete agreements with Hungary to increase the transparency of the dog trade.
Efforts are being made to improve the transport conditions of puppies, vaccination management and stress reduction, but there is also an emphasis on traceability, so that the origin of a puppy can be determined more easily.
The aim is to make similar agreements with other countries, which Decooman calls good news.
“With this agreement there will be better regulation. And the better it is regulated, the better it will be for everyone: pet and owner.”
