Jodie Marsh: “We need to BAN inhumane puppy and kitten farms”

In her latest Jodie Marsh Has Her Say column for Closer Online, Jodie Marsh talks about the horrors of puppy and kitten farms - a subject VERY close to her heart - and explains what we can do to stop them...

I’m going to start with a tale of a kitten farm (which is exactly the same thing as a puppy farm, just a different animal), and the reason for this is that I have first-hand experience of it.

I’ve always wanted a Ragdoll cat so a couple of years ago, after one of my rescue cats passed away I decided to get one as a “friend” for my remaining cat. I looked up on Pets4Homes (a website offering animals for sale from breeders around the UK).

I found Ragdoll kittens for sale in Plumstead, London, and I called the guy in the ad. I asked him if I could see the mum and all about injections etc (all the questions you’re told to ask) and everything seemed fine. I asked him to WhatsApp me photos of the kitten (I had asked for a boy and he said he only had one boy left).

I arranged to go the following day to get him; I had already fallen head over heels in love just from the photos. The next day I travelled there with “the twat” (my ex). We walked into a flat, which I can only describe as being like something out of a horror film to animal lovers. There were probably 50 kittens in this flat, no furniture, STINKING and it was very clear that no one actually lived there, it was simply a dark, dank prison for kittens. There were no adult cats anywhere, just kittens all of different breeds running around looking scared and lost and malnourished.

The breeder (let’s call him “The Tosser”) immediately handed me the Ragdoll that I had seen in the photos, who looked up at me with his big blue eyes and I knew there and then I wasn’t going to walk out and leave him in this hell hole. Every brain cell in my head was screaming “THIS IS A KITTEN FARM – DO NOT BUY!!!!!!!” but my heart had already melted on the floor and was quietly saying “you can give him a better life than anyone!”.

As we talked money (the whole time I’m clutching Spider, who you may now know if you follow me on social media), I happened to look down and sitting staring up at me from the floor was a British Blue kitten with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. All the other kittens were still running madly around and she was just sitting looking at me, perfectly still. I scooped her up and cuddled her and she nestled into me and Spider. My heart said a little louder “you can rescue TWO from this vile pit”, my mouth said “how much for two?”. I walked out with Spider AND Sugar.

I hated myself for giving The Tosser money, but I justified it to myself by thinking that ANY animal lover would have done the same thing and that really I was “rescuing” them – which I was!

Within a day, Sugar was sick. In brief (I won’t bore you with the whole story), I spent the next two months visiting the animal hospital Sugar was in with the disease FIP (which is nearly always fatal to kittens); I sat on the floor cuddling her on my lap for three hours a day. I knew she was going to die, but I wanted her to die knowing that she was loved and safe and protected. I bonded with her. I can honestly tell you now that I don’t think I have ever cried so much as I did in those two months. I spent over £3,000 trying to get her better - on tests (to work out if it WAS FIP), on medication and pain relief, and eventually on having her put to sleep in my arms.

The whole experience was horrific. And also, the whole time I was panicking that my other two, Spider and Skinny (my previous rescue cat) would catch the highly contagious disease and die too. Each day that I came home from the animal hospital, I had to strip off all my clothes at the front door so as not to “take the virus” into the house. It was exhausting and devastating. And I knew then that it’s true what they say: NEVER BUY FROM A PUPPY OR KITTEN FARM.

One in three dogs bought in the UK are bred on dog farms, and a million puppies are bred from these farms a year. Because the dogs are kept in such horrific conditions, one in five puppy farm dogs will die before they are six months old. Like the kittens above, the dogs don’t have human interaction (other than being prodded with a “handling pole”), and are therefore often terrified of humans. They are kept in tiny pens, their fur is matted and often covered in faeces. They are kept in the darkness and are riddled with infection and disease. The puppies are then taken from the mothers far too early and kept in tiny locked cages, whimpering out of fear. These puppies can then be sold for up to £3,000, and it can cost up to £5,000 to make them well again (that’s if they even survive – many don’t). The mums are used as breeding machines until they become infertile and are then often killed as they are no longer of use.

Shockingly, puppy farms are not illegal in the UK. There are hundreds of licensed puppy farms here, and there’s no limit to the number of dogs each farm can have.

If, like me, you are an animal lover and you go to buy a puppy (or kitten) and you realise something isn’t quite right, you need to be strong enough to walk out and call the RSPCA instead of buying one thinking that you are “doing the right thing”. There are many things you can do to ensure you are buying from a reputable breeder and NOT from a puppy farm, here’s some tips:

I have worked with and supported Marc Abrahams, founder of Pupaid, who are calling for a ban on puppy farms to end this barbaric practice. Marc is amazing; he campaigns endlessly on this subject and is often at Parliament fighting for change. I can’t stress enough how cruel puppy and kitten farming is. I have been through the devastation of losing a “baby” to this evil trade, and emotionally I don’t think I’m over it two years on! By continuing to buy from farms, all we’re doing is supporting them, and yes, I beat myself up all the time over my choice that day. If every single person refused to buy from them, there would be no more business for them and they would HAVE to close down. It is VITAL that people understand this. I’m an intelligent woman, an animal lover and a vegetarian and my animals are my whole life and I STILL supported a farm that day I took two kittens. I knew it was wrong but I couldn’t walk out without feeling like I’d “saved” a couple.

Today, I could honestly say I would never ever buy from any type of puppy or kitten farm. I have ten animals and seven of those are rescues I rehomed. I would HIGHLY recommend and encourage rescuing as there are so many amazing animals in rescue centres and sanctuaries (through no fault of their own) who need a home and just want to be loved. My seven rescued animals are loyal, loving, grateful and perfect. For whatever reason (and the reasons are all different), they just weren’t wanted. And I’m glad they weren’t because it now means I have THE BEST fur family in the world.

I now urge you all to please please please sign the petition to ban puppy farms.

Lastly, if you think animals are being mistreated then contact the RSPCA. And for more information on puppy farming, please visit Pupaid's website.

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