Now on bbc news, bbc wales investigates the people behind the multimillion pound puppy industry. New owners can spend thousands of pounds on dogs, but whats really going on inside licenced premises . Im travelling through carmarthenshire and ceredigion. This is known as the puppy farm capital of the uk. Pups born here are sold to owners all over the country. Owners like danielle foley. She found winston a beagle advertised online. He said that he was like a reputable breeder and he had his own website and it was kind of like all like the perfect picture, if you get me . She agreed to buy winston for £650 from the breeder who was licenced by the council. She didnt realise shed bought from a puppy farm. And he had like a summer house kind of thing just at the bottom of his property where only two of the puppies were. I didnt see any of the other puppies or the puppys mum. Within 2a hours, winston became seriously unwell. He was lying down and when i picked him up his bodyjust kind of flopped, just really weak, so we took him to the out of hours vets and they said theyd keep an eye on him for me. Winston was left fighting for his life, just days after leaving the licenced breeder. Puppy farming has long been controversial. Four years ago, new rules were supposed to improve the Industry Health checks from vets, stricter annual inspections by local authorities. But despite repeated warnings, dogs are still falling sick after being bred in filthy, unfit conditions. Conditions that prospective owners are unlikely to see. Bernese mags and dwd were among five dogs handed over by a puppy farmer to rescuers last year. They were in an awful, dreadful condition. They didnt like strangers or people coming up to them. They certainly didnt want to be touched. The rescue charity says it was told by the breeder that dwd had a prolapsed womb. But vets later found it was a large tumour the size of a fist that experts said would not have happened overnight. I cant even begin to think what kind of conditions they must have been in. Puppy farms are inspected at least once a year. If you have three litters or more you have to have a licence. Councils dont routinely publish inspection reports so how do you find out which breeders are playing by the rules . We had to use the freedom of information act to get hold of Council Reports and some refused to hand them over. Some of the ones we did see showed that despite some breeders being warned again and again by councils about welfare, they were re licenced year after year. We wanted to see what conditions were like for ourselves. But if i went along with a camera crew its unlikely id be shown a true picture, so we went undercover. This farm near llandysul is run by a couple that have been repeatedly warned to take better care of their dogs for years. We looked inside their shed, open to the elements, pen after pen of dogs. When we posed as potential customers, we met one of the owners, david jones. Dogs kept here were reported to have a long list of painful Health Problems cysts, lice and matted fur. But the Council Still re licenced for breeding. We ask if hes got any older dogs for sale. Hed onlyjust met us, but he grabs one and hands it over. Give her a good home. It has no name, no paperwork, no medical history. We took her to the hope rescue charity, in pontyclun. Its manager Vanessa Waddon was so concerned about her health, she took her straight to the vet. Not nice at all, bless her. Shed recently given birth, but still had a puppy inside her. Get her on some fluids and well see if we can manipulate that out but id be worried about more in. If she hadnt got out and got treatment, that could have led to toxic shock and shed actually could have died. Shouldnt be happening. Ive been doing this for 15 years now, and it takes a lot to make me cry, and, yeah thats not good. After emergency surgery, olwyn now faces months of recovery and will be looking for a new home. Weve worked out there are an estimated 2a,000 puppies are born in wales every year. Thats worth over £12 million. This next breeder has been licenced by Ceredigion Council for years despite a long list of dogs with serious Health Problems. On the internet, the breeder says their love for their animals is the backbone to their family business. We go in to see if they live up to their advert. This is the farm, north of llandysul. Kennels on the yard are empty. But at the back, in a shed with no windows, we found this. A vet reported that some dogs here had skin conditions like mange and rotting teeth. So why did the council re licence it for several years. We asked three expert vets, who have an in depth knowledge of the regulations in wales, to look at our evidence. Between them, they have over 100 years of experience. We showed them the first farm, where we were given an ex breeding dog. Its a farm and its not really been modified to look after dogs in the way it should. Theres no way of controlling temperature, no beds. The panel also had concerns about how many times david jones and his wife were re licenced by Ceredigion Council. Although recommendations are being made, no steps seem to be taken to move this kennel forward or close it down. They questioned why the second farm a few miles away was also re licenced, when welfare issues were evident for years. I wouldnt expect to go into a breeding establishment and see mange two years in a row. I wouldnt expect to see the numbers of dogs that have overgrown nails, dental problems, certainly they shouldnt be licenced. But both farms gave Chris Laurence serious cause for concern. I would be thinking about ringing the rspca about these sort of conditions. Ceredigion council didnt want to speak to us but insisted improvements had been made at mr and mrsjones farm near llandysul recently. But what about all the problems over the years . Well, apparently the council had to strike a balance between enforcement and education. And at this other farm a few miles away, it said it couldnt comment due to ongoing Legal Proceedings regarding its enforcement action. But its notjust councils that check up on breeders. Vets are part of the welfare system too. Breeders have to pay them to write health check reports on their animals in order to keep their licences. And it was this practice aeron vets that checked the dogs on the two farms weve just seen. But in their official report, aeron vets dont appear to question how the dogs were being kept. Mike jessop is brought in by councils across wales to advise on Animal Welfare issues. What questions would you have of this vet . I would question whether they are truly able to advise on a breeding establishment because they dont seem to understand the link with this problem with the health and how it relates to the regulations they should be putting in a very stern warning here that this shouldnt be a breeding centre. Our panel agreed. Do you think theres been a failure on the part of the vet not fulfilling his duty here . I would say so, yea. Actually i would say no dog on a breeding establishment should show clinical signs of lice or mange. Its just unreasonable. Itjust smacks of a general lack of care of whats going on. Aeron vets wouldnt do an interview, saying they had to respect client confidentiality, but they did tell us that if they felt Animal Welfare was compromised they would do whatever was within their powers to address the matter. But if the Animal Welfare system fails, its dogs that suffer and owners who can lose hundreds even thousands of pounds. At the vets, the outlook for danielles puppy winston wasnt good. I got a call, that winston was positive for parvo. He had contracted a virus that is often fatal. Parvo is highly contagious, but can be prevented with vaccination. When i asked the breeder, could i have his vet card, he told me that he vaccinates them himself. Then when we spoke on the phone, he told me i should have brought him back and he had all the antibiotics for him. But things took a turn for the worse. Two oclock in the morning, the vets rung my mum. He said that his organs are shutting down and its going to be a slow, painful death, so can they make it quick and easy for him. This is the farm danielle bought winston from, near kidwelly. We found this shed at the back. Inside, lots of breeding dogs and puppies. We got hold of their Council Inspection report from earlier this year. It says this place had problems with its waste, record keeping, and parvo virus. Astonishingly it states the owner kicked a dog while the inspection was taking place. He was still given a licence, approved by carmarthenshire council. The breeder denies animal cruelty. It was also here in carmarthenshire that another puppy farmer handed over sick dogs to a rescue charity last year. Mags and dwd were two of them. Those rescued dogs had been microchipped, but were not registered to anyone like they should have been by law. Weve trawled through hundreds of inspection reports comparing microchip numbers, and we worked out where those dogs came from. Our undercoverjournalist paid an Early Morning visit to this farm run by Aneurin Francis, south of carmarthen. We spot the same breed of dog as mags and dwd. I could see two sheds with dogs in. Some of them just looked like concrete boxes, nothing else there for them, and they were really dirty. Lots of the dogs just seemed too nervous to come up to us. Their basic welfare needs are not being met in that sort of environment. Its not clear how long the dogs that were given away by the breeder lived here. Come on, baby. Dwds cancer has now spread and she can no longer walk. Mammy loves you, thats my girl. Maria has made the difficult decision to have her put to sleep. There we are. You go nights nights now. Thats my girl. The breeder Aneurin Francis admits handing over the dogs but says they were under veterinary supervision. He claims when the dogs left they had no visible Health Problems. Back on the road, we headed to another site in carmarthenshire. This time, the council knew the breeder was keeping dogs in poor conditions. He was warned repeatedly to improve things. Things we saw for ourselves when we arrived. Dogs with matted coats and concerns about access to water and exercise. This place continues to be licenced. I see you. Oh god. Faeces all over the floor. Outside we make a grim discovery. Is that a dead dog . Left there. Where do you start . On a very basic level there are no clean surfaces, the place is dirty. Some of those very young puppies, the bitches will still be lactating, theyve got a high demand for water and they havent got access to it. Its dark, its depressing, theres no enrichment for the dogs, and to see the last bit of the footage with a dead dog just laid out. Why would you do that . Can you understand why this place was allowed to continue operating . No, no, not a clue. This is the breeder, kevin thomas. He told us the kennels are thoroughly cleaned on a daily basis and disputes that dogs didnt have access to water. He denied his establishment was dark and depressing and insisted there was plenty of enrichment for the dogs. The dead dog we found had choked on a toy and after seeing a vet, hed left it outside to be buried. He claims he complies with all the regulations and his dogs are happy, well looked after. But there is Good Practice in this industry. Ive come to see a breeder in swansea with expert vet mikejessop. Dogs here are surrounded with the sights and sounds of a household environment. If theyre bred well, psychologically balanced dogs, well, theres no problem. Important things for me are up to date vaccinations and up to date health check. Like every licenced breeder, steve must have his dogs checked by a vet every year. They have got to certify that the dog is fit to breed, so they should know this dog is living in good quality conditions, that is being managed as per the regulations. Steves records also prove that all dogs have been vaccinated. The big scary disease is parvovirus, because its so contagious. Its a gastroenteritis which is largely fatal. So if theyre vaccinated, itll stop the progression of that disease quite quickly. The man who sold danielle her puppy said it had been vaccinated against parvovirus, yet winston died after contracting it. We paid winstons breeder a visit, posing as buyers. How are you . Just like danielle, were shown into what the breeder calls his dog show room. What breeds have you got here, then . Hes offering to sell these daschunds for £1,200 each. A puppy should be checked by a vet before any vaccination. But when we asked about parvovirus, he said the vet doesnt come out to see the puppies, and he doesnt take them in for a check up either. But a vet has to see the puppies before selling a vaccine. So it would appear this breeder is not following the vaccination rules. This is his registered practice, towy vets in carmarthen. They didnt want to be interviewed and wouldnt tell us if they supplied vaccines without seeing the puppies first. We got hold of the most recent health check report they did for the breeder. Its lacking in detail, but does say some dogs are fit to breed when theyre just three months old and lists one beagle as being fit to breed even though its described as being dead. Does this vet report strike you as rather thin on detail . Yes, lax, very thin on detail. This is the only record of these dogs that we have, so we have no idea if theyre vaccinated, when did they whelp, how many litters have they had . We have nothing. Towy vets told us that in light of our enquiries, an investigation is now under way. Carmarthenshire council told us that inspections only provide a snapshot and they welcome any evidence to help them take appropriate action where needed. That it has a strong and proactive approach to enforcing dog breeding standards and has now employed a vet to help them complete inspections. But what about the breeder, who didnt follow the rules on vaccinations, the man who sold winston, the beagle pup who died at barely nine weeks old . Alun douch told us he maintained excellent standards and always addressed things like parvo and was never cruel to his animals. But he didnt answer all our questions about vaccinations and antibiotics. Ive come to his farm to try again. Hello, mr douch, its wyre davies. You dont . What about the puppy you sold with parvo . But one thing experts seem to agree on is that its notjust breeders and councils at fault here, but some vets too. The system is definitely broken and vets are absolutely an integral part of it. I think some of the vets standards have slipped. Theyre not doing what they should be doing and working in the best interests of welfare of the animals. There are some clear examples here where some professional colleagues have been found wanting. And i would have no problem handing that information over to the Royal College. It would mean youd only be able to buy puppies from the place they were born, and customers could then see if conditions there were bad. But, say our experts, given the weakness of existing laws, more fundamental reforms are required. At the farm near llandysul, where some dogs had mange and rotting teeth, the breeder rhydianjones has recently had his licence revoked. But is he still selling pups . Hello he offered us this one for £600. Remember, conditions here were not good enough to be licensed, but it sounds like there are more pups on the way. Anything else coming up . While Ceredigion Council told us theyd taken enforcement action against rhydian jones. At the other farm near llandysul, where we were handed the sick dog, the licence has been renewed again, this time on a three month rather than a i2 month term. The breeder said theyve engaged with the council to ensure the highest industry standards and felt our expert panels comments were not relevant. They said sometimes dogs become unwell with problems that havent yet been diagnosed. But they didnt answer all our questions about olwyn, the dog they handed over. We want to ask why they gave a severely ill dog to strangers, a dog that needed treatment to save its life, a dog that they gave without any paperwork or notification. Hello . Excuse me, what are you doing . We are from bbc wales investigates. Can you go . Can you tell us about the dog that you sold us that was seriously illand died . I am now filming you. Can you leave . You wont answer any of our questions . Things are finally starting to look up for olwyn. Shes been found new owners. And today shes meeting them. Theyre really happy, perfect. Olwyn can now look forward to a brighter future. But how many other dogs will be as lucky, with so many questions about breeders, councils and even some vets . An urgent and immediate review of regulations has been announced by the boss government. The chief veterinary officer for wales has referred this programme to the royal couege referred this programme to the Royal College of veterinary surgeons. Hello. The unsettled autumnal theme to the weather continues through the remainder of the week and stop on saturday we had some heavy showers around. This was the picture in angus. We will be seeing similar scenes on sunday. Still some heavy rain around at times. Late in the day things will turn a little bit drier with some sunshine for some places, particularly towards the southin places, particularly towards the south in the west. But we start the morning initially babs with dry weather in the south and east. The rain makes its way north across england and wales, times thing into eastern parts of Northern Ireland and southern eastern parts of scotland. Some sunshine late in the day, especially southern england, pa rt day, especially southern england, part of south wales as well still could be quite breezy. The rain does their away was the north sea sunday night and into monday. A bit of a quieter start your new walking week. Mist and fog possible first thing. Monday, some rain on the class, vertically for Northern Ireland, perhaps pressing into temperature and common. The chance of heavy, potentially thuggery downpours in the south east. Temperatures around 1216. The south east. Temperatures around 12 16. Thundery. Bye bye. This is bbc news. 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