Reggie's Law: Petition to crackdown on 'dogfishing' after St Helens puppy dies after just two days
Political correspondent Lise McNally reports.
A man from Wigan whose puppy died within two days of bringing him home is handing in a petition to Number 10 Downing Street, calling for better regulation of online pet sales.
'Reggie's Law' would see websites required to verify the identity of sellers, and for young pets to have to be pictured with their parents.
It follows a campaign 'Justice for Reggie', which aims to prevent potential owners from falling victim to 'dogfishing'.
The campaign was started by Richard Ackers after his Labrador puppy, Reggie, died just two days after being brought home.
Richard bought the 12-week-old puppy for his partner for Christmas, believing they were purchasing Reggie from a reputable website.
The pup was believed to be coming from St. Helens, Merseyside, but his chip was actually registered to Dublin, causing the couple to believe he was shipped to the country illegally.
It is feared that little Reggie may have come from an illegal farm as the puppy became sick within 12 hours of arriving home and died of parvovirus - a highly infectious disease that his owners claim could have been caught if he was transported.
Following the puppy's death, the couple set up a petition to introduce a law in Reggie's name, with the legislation seeing a change in how sellers prove their identification.
He has walked nearly 200 miles from his home in Wigan to hand the petition to the Prime Minister, calling for a change in the law.
It is so online sellers have to verify their identity and prove the puppy has been kept with its mother.
Richard said: "There should be more checks in place. Reggie's law would verify these sellers by asking them to provide proof of address and a photo ID before the ad goes live.
"It would ask for identification of a seller along with a photo or video of young animals suckling on mum, this would hopefully get rid of fake mums being used, which we see as an increasing concern when people are buying dogs.
"The verification of a seller is so important, as this will not stop bad breeding, but after speaking with various agencies, it's not the number of bad breeders or dog thefts, it's actually catching these people.
"Reggie's law would be able to identify the seller and, if needed, animal protection agencies would have all the information to follow up and track the seller, something they are struggling to do at the minute."
A government spokesperson said: "The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare. We endorse the Pet Advertising Advisory Group’s work and support their actions to improve the traceability of online vendors."
What is dogfishing?
The Dogs Trust describes 'dogfishing' as a person who tries to mislead someone into buying a dog which may not be what it seems. The dog might be a different gender or breed to what has been advertised - and might have health issue.
Sites including Pets4Homes, Preloved, The Friday-Ad, Animal24 and Puppy Choices have all joined together to crackdown on those who have been breeding or selling dogs illegally.