Gangsters fuel surge in killer dogs and make £10,000 a litter by breeding pups
An explosion in unlicensed “backyard breeders” putting profits over puppy welfare is fuelling a spike in serious and fatal dog attacks, a Mirror investigation has learned.
Puppies struggling to breathe or sleep due to painful health issues are being bred in squalid conditions or even vehicles, experts say.
But even more disturbing is a trend of gangsters breeding dogs to cash in on the cruel trade and evade the law.
Dog breeding pens are available online for £200, while experts say one litter can rake in more than £10,000.
A dog pregnancy can last 57 to 70 days, meaning that in one year a backyard breeder with just one bitch can feasibly make £50,000 to £60,000.
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A police office with rescued dog SnowDog trainer Kate Golding, of Scawby, Lincs, said: “Dogs can sell for a lot of money – fashionable Frenchies, American Bullys and Bulldogs can make tens of thousands if not more per litter.
“It’s easy money, particularly if you’re not investing in their environment or how they’re brought up and you’re happy to sell to the highest bidder.”
Sting operations by local authorities and welfare agencies have exposed the abhorrent conditions of puppy mills and backyard breeders. Multiple dogs are often crammed into tiny cages, kept in small bedrooms using a baby gate, or even loaded into the back of vans.
They are regularly deprived of proper nutrition, sunlight, social skills or even forced to live among their excrement.
A filthy and cramped kennels discovered in Birmingham (RSPCA / SWNS)One image shows a backyard breeder using corrugated iron tied together to separate a small corner of their yard. Neighbours claimed they were keeping Jack Russell dogs in the “barren” space.
“A reputable breeder will be health testing dogs to the nth degree. There are loads of inheritable diseases that can be screened for, in the backyard dogs that doesn’t happen,” Kate added.
Earlier this week the Mirror saw a clip of a pack of dogs mauling a six-year-old girl as she played in the street.
Neighbours in Trafford, Manchester had raised concerns about someone allegedly breeding dogs and keeping more than a dozen in a caravan.
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Bella-Rae Birch, who was killed in her home by an out-of-control dog (Merseyside Police / SWNS.COM)Police have seized 17 dogs and charged a 35-year-old man with eight counts of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control that caused injury.
The charges are in relation to the girl and on a separate occasion to a man in December 2022.
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Since last March, 11 people, including five children aged four or younger, have been killed by dogs in Britain. Last year was the deadliest on record for dog attacks in more than 30 years and experts say attacks have tripled since 2000.
They believe there is “a direct link” between the rising number of fatal and serious dog attacks and poor breeding.
Frankie Macritchie, nine, who was killed by an American bulldog cross (PA)
Dexter Neal, three, was mauled to death by an out-of-control American bulldog (PA)“They are so poorly bred they are often in pain. There is a link between behaviour and pain,” said Vanessa Waddon, of animal charity Hope Rescue, near Cardiff, South Wales. Seven of the last 11 fatal attacks in the UK involved a Bull breed.
The Mirror has also heard reports of rescued XL Bully dogs needing two or three handlers to control them.
Organised crime groups have been linked to backyard breeding to create status pets, launder drug money or simply turn a quick buck.
Vanessa explained: “There is a very clear link between people who have convictions for drug dealing and illegal puppy farming. We got a load of English and French bulldogs from a police raid where they found drugs, weapons, cash. It is an easy way to launder money, the consequences are not nearly as severe as drug dealing.”
This year, convicted drug gang boss Thomas Raymont was exposed as running a bulldog breeding business from prison. Raymont, of Warrington, Cheshire was jailed in 2021 for his part in a cocaine and heroin supply worth more than £100,000.
When sentenced at Liverpool crown court, Raymont claimed his illegal drug money came from his dog breeding business. But in January an undercover journalist found Raymont was still running the UK arm of Muscletone Bullys from his cell. Popular Frenchies, Pugs, Bulldogs and Bullys fall into flat-faced breeds.
Daniel John Twigg, three, who died following dog attack in Rochdale (Police handout)
Eliza-Mae Mullane was just six days old when she was killed in an attack by the family dog (PA)But animal behaviourist Hannah Molloy warns the animals are “struggling to breathe and sleep”. She said: “Dogs are being bred with what we call ‘extreme conformation’ so there are breeds like French bulldogs and pugs living with painful conditions.”
This extreme breeding combined with cruel procedures like ear cropping can make the dogs agitated by the pain. “Ear cropping is illegal but it is not illegal to import a dog with ears cropped. So lots of breeders pretend they have imported them,” said Vanessa. “They’ve bad spines, they are trying to get as much muscle as possible on.”
Another fear is a trend towards co-owning dogs, where an investor houses a dog while the breeder puts it out to stud, and they split the profits.
Trainer Kate Golding said: “There’s a disregard for personality traits of the parents. We hear ‘the mum growled at us and the dad was the same, we couldn’t go anywhere near him’.” The National Police Chief Council said it is working across the country through its Dangerous Dogs Working Group.
Forces such as North Wales and Sutton Police in London have introduced early intervention systems to warn owners of dangerous behaviour.
But experts say the law needs to be overhauled and properly reinforced.
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