A Labour MP has demanded tough new laws to clampdown on "horrible and vicious" backstreet clinics breeding designer dogs with an array of health problems because they look cute.
Barry Gardiner told The Mirror he is appalled at the rising number of facilities where unqualified staff carry out procedures such as caesarian sections and artificial inseminations, charging customers thousands of pounds. Animal charities have voiced their alarm over clinics breeding "fashionable" dogs with flat faces, cropped ears and docked tails.
Mr Gardiner said many of the dogs live their life in "extreme distress" because of the way they've been bred, and experts say many bulldogs and pugs have to be euthanised as a result. The MP, who has owned dogs most of his life, told The Mirror after hearing harrowing evidence on the trend: "It's vicious and horrible and people don't realise what's happening in what should be a nice part of their lives, looking after an animal. They're buying these designer dogs and they've got no idea what the poor animals have been through.
