Gangsters are getting rich selling “designer” bulldogs for thousands of pounds, an animal welfare investigation revealed.
Dogs including the American bully, which have exaggerated features such as excessive skin folds and large, muscular frames, sell for more than £10,000 on social media sites.
They also often have the tops of their ears lopped off, a painful process known as ear cropping.
BBC Panorama reporter Sam Poling spent eight months investigating the dog-breeding underworld.
She identified a convicted “county lines” drug dealer who appeared to be selling American Bully puppies from prison.
Thomas Rayment, of Warrington, Cheshire, was jailed aged 30 in 2021 for running a heroin and crack cocaine gang.
His Facebook messenger account was used repeatedly to set up a deal with Ms Poling.
The account says he runs the UK arm of a major breeding business called Muscletone Bullys UK.
His business partner Ryan Howard said Rayment was brokering the deal from prison, although he later denied this when contacted by the BBC.
Mr Howard is not licensed to breed and sell dogs but in undercover footage, he told Panorama he had a “huge network” of around 120 dogs.
He explained that most are “co-owns”, in which a dealer gets someone else to house the dog and pays them a percentage from its sale.
It means a dealer can have a network of dogs without the authorities having any idea how many they have.
In a statement, Muscletone Bullys UK said: “Thomas Rayment does not communicate with anyone illegally and has others running his socials.”
An animal welfare investigator spoke about the connection between organised crime and extreme dog breeding.
The investigator, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s a massively lucrative trade. The big breeders… the majority are criminals, drug dealers, organised crime gangs. It’s exactly the same business model as selling drugs. But we’re talking about dogs.”
Panorama identified another breeding business, not connected to organised crime, but producing English bulldogs with extreme features, even though the owners had recently been successfully prosecuted.
Karl Shellard, 44, and wife Victoria, 41, of Bonvilston, South Wales, were convicted of animal welfare offences and fined £19,000 each last year.
When the police raided their home they found 27 dogs. They were selling their extreme breed of English bulldogs for up to £20,000 each on social media.
The programme found the Shellards are still in business and Karl boasted of making up to £100,000 in one month.
- Panorama: Dogs, Dealers and Organised Crime is on BBC iPlayer now.
