New Dog Welfare Bill Takes On Ireland’s Puppy Farms

More than just a toy…

atest press release from Jennifer Whitmore TD, issued on Friday, November 21st 2025…

Social Democrats TD for Wicklow, Jennifer Whitmore, has introduced an important animal welfare Bill aimed at strengthening weak dog breeding regulations in Ireland.

“Ireland is facing a dog welfare crisis, with more than 3,000 stuck in pounds and rescue centres around the country. Abandonments have surged since Covid-19, with the cost-of-living and housing crises adding to the problem,” Deputy Whitmore explained.

“In 2022, 7,352 dogs entered Irish pounds, a 77 per cent increase on 2021, and 340 were euthanised. Shamefully, Ireland is now the puppy farm capital of Europe, with 30,000 dogs exported annually into illegal markets in the UK, Europe and Asia. This figure increases by 70,000 if you take backyard breeders into account, where hundreds of female dogs are often kept in extremely poor conditions,” Deputy Whitmore continued.

“This scandalous situation has arisen because of weak regulation under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. It means females as young as four months can be bred, with no maximum age, and they can have up to six litters in their lifetimes. Our inadequate laws have left the door open to unregistered breeding and allowed harmful practices like surgical insemination to remain legal.”

Deputy Whitmore worked in collaboration with Dog Law Ireland, a pro-bono advocacy group set up by three lawyers, Hannah Unger, Carrie McMeel, and Demi Mullen, to write this Bill. Her work was informed by the FieldFisher paper published in May 2024 – “Key Reforms to Dog Breeding in Ireland”.

“The Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2025, which I introduced today, contains several key measures to strengthen the 2010 act. These include capping the number of breeding females at 30 per site; introducing a 16-month minimum age for breeding and eight-year maximum age; a maximum of one litter per year per breeding female; a maximum of four litters per breeding female during her lifetime; a minimum age of 10 weeks for pup separation; mandating 10:1 staff-to-animal ratios for proper care; the outlawing of surgical artificial insemination; and updating fee structures to reflect new welfare standards,” Deputy Whitmore outlined.

“I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to the women behind Dog Law Ireland for their collaboration on this Bill, and all of those at FieldFisher who worked on the dog breeding reforms paper that was crucial to my work on this legislation.”

“We must do everything we can to eliminate cruel practices when it comes to dog breeding. In the absence of proper regulation, animal welfare charities and rescue centres will continue to be left to pick up the pieces,” concluded Deputy Whitmore.

“The Social Democrats will be using their Private Members Time on December 10th to facilitate a two hour debate on this Bill, I sincerely hope that Government and other opposition parties will see the necessity of these changes and support this Bill.”

You can sign a Dog Law Ireland petition for this bill here.