Lucy’s Law
The introduction of Lucy’s law to Northern Ireland – Ban on 3rd party sale of puppies under 6 months old.
Lucy's Law is named after the Cavalier King George Spaniel who suffered multiple health conditions including a curved spine, bald patches, epilepsy, and infused hips as a result of spending most of her life kept in a cage and used to breed litters of puppies at a Welsh puppy farm.
In 2013, Lucy was rescued by Lisa Garner who used social media to spread the word about the conditions in puppy farms. The Lucy's Law campaign was launched in her memory, and new legislation became law in England in April 2020.
The USPCA supports the local introduction of such legislation which affords young and vulnerable companion animal's protection from abuse by criminals. There are lessons to be learnt for the introduction of Lucy's Law in England and similar legislation in Scotland, to enable Northern Ireland to close loopholes. This will provide the most robust for of legislationacross the UK to put a stop to puppy farming.
The USPCA is an active member of Operation Delphin, working with our partners in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland to disrupt the illegal trafficking of pups through this jurisdiction and into the GB market. By banning third party sales of young pups, Lucy's Law would impactsignificantly on the retail activities at the end of a supply chain that brings misery and expense to pets and people.
The USPCA will continue to champion the introduction of Lucy's Law in Northern Ireland.
