RSPCA calls for crackdown on UK's '£100m puppy trafficking trade'

The RSPCA has called for a tougher laws on puppy sellers after it emerged gangs in Britain are running a massive smuggling ring worth more than £100 million.

The dogs, which are bred in unhealthy conditions and could carry disease, are trafficked into the UK on fake papers, a Daily Mirror investigation found.

The pups are then sold on to unsuspecting families who think they are getting a healthy pet.

But the animal welfare charity warns there could be a rabies outbreak and have recently rescued hundreds of dogs being kept in "horrendous conditions".

Many of the dogs are bred on farms where there are 'horrendous' conditions, the RSPCA said. Credit: Reuters

Chief inspector Ian Briggs, from the RSPCA's Special Operations Unit, told the Mirror there could be up to 100 of these criminal gangs operating "like drug cartels".

It is claimed the animals have been trafficked across Ireland and eastern Europe.

The RSPCA is now calling on the government to introduce laws in England to combat puppy dealers selling sick and dying animals.

It wants all puppy sellers to be licensed and strong fines and penalties brought in for anyone who is caught selling animals without one,