Britain's largest pet insurance firm Petplan is accused of fueling barbaric puppy-farming trade by giving 'trusted breeders' status to unscrupulous dealers without doing any checks

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Louise St John Poulton leaving Birmingham Magistrates Court

Britain’s largest pet insurance company has been accused of fuelling the barbaric puppy-farming trade by awarding unscrupulous dealers the status of ‘trusted breeders’ without performing even basic checks.

Dealers who keep puppies in squalid conditions and riddled with contagious diseases sign up to the prestigious Petplan Breeder Scheme to trick unsuspecting dog lovers into believing they are buying from reputable kennels.

Along with a ‘veneer of respectability’, breeders who register with Petplan are also given welcome packs including 30 days’ free insurance cover to offer puppy buyers.

Every time a new customer takes out a Petplan policy, the breeders signed up to the scheme receive ‘commission’ in the form of shopping vouchers.

Petplan says its breeders must adhere to a ‘puppy charter’ that is supposed to ensure they maintain good standards of animal welfare and breeding practices.

The charter insists they have bred the litters themselves, are not being investigated by trading standards, and that the dogs are healthy and have been socialised by being handled regularly since birth – a key factor in ensuring a young dog will make a good pet.

But critics say that in reality the rules are often ignored as the charter puts the onus on the breeders to police themselves. One clause states: ‘I understand that it is my responsibility to inform Petplan if I no longer comply with any aspect of this charter.’

And we discovered that Petplan makes no checks when accepting a new breeder on to its register.

Last week, having been tipped off by animal welfare campaigners, our reporters proved that anyone can apply and be accepted on to the 10,000-strong Registered Breeder Scheme, with no safeguards as to whether they are caring, ethical breeders.

Six Mail on Sunday journalists signed up as Petplan ‘breeders’ using bogus names. Every single application was approved with no questions asked, even though one reporter used the name Cruella de Vil – the arch- villain from the 101 Dalmatians story.

Petplan had a turnover in the UK of £440 million last year. It has earned a reputation for promoting responsible pet ownership and has donated millions to animal welfare charities.

That record makes its apparent seal of approval all the more valuable to unscrupulous dealers who join its breeder scheme. Being registered also allows puppy farmers to join the ranks of respectable breeders on Petplan’s Find A Pet website.

On its Facebook page, the firm described those on Find A Pet as ‘trusted’, but deleted the description after being contacted by The Mail on Sunday during this investigation and launched a review of its procedures.

Petplan’s breeder scheme offering free 30-day policies to customers has been used by criminal dealers such as Louise Poulton, left, to pose as respectable breeders and lure clients. Poulton, from Solihull, West Midlands, was convicted after a police and RSPCA raid on a farm where she and partner Sean Kerr sold sick and dying puppies, such as the one above

We have learned of at least two appalling cases of criminal gangs of puppy farmers who were signed up to the Petplan scheme.

A third kennel is still trading and offering the company’s insurance despite an appalling record of sick and dying pups.

Earlier this year, in a case involving puppy farmers who were signed up to Petplan and making huge profits selling shih tzus and pugs, police and RSPCA officers raided a stable block in Solihull, West Midlands, where they found horrific scenes.

A dead puppy was discovered in a plastic carrier bag in the passenger footwell of a Peugeot van next to discarded fizzy drinks cans and McDonald’s wrappers.

Inside the dingy property, more than 30 puppies were found alive but on floors coated with faeces and bedding soaked with urine.

Four animals – three of them pregnant – were kept in complete darkness with no ventilation.

The investigators described the dogs as ‘petrified’. It soon became clear why.

On a whiteboard in one of the stables, officers found chilling instructions for the daily care of the dogs, including the words: ‘Keep puppies quiet, do not let them bark. Squirt them or use whip to crack in yard.’

The authorities had been alerted after a string of puppies sold to new owners died within days of being bought from the squalid farm.

Dogs in cages littered with faeces. Staff were instructed to keep the puppies quiet by squirting them or cracking a whip

The raid resulted in Sean Kerr, 52, being jailed for six months in February after being found guilty of six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs and three counts of failing to meet the needs of a number of dogs. He was ordered to pay £30,000 costs, a reflection of what the judge described as the ‘small fortune’ Kerr and his partner Louise Poulton were estimated to have made by selling puppies at £400 a time.

Poulton, 43, admitted the same offences but escaped with a suspended sentence. She was ordered to pay £15,000 costs and was disqualified from keeping dogs for life.

Last December, BBC’s Watchdog programme sent an undercover vet to investigate Ivy Leaf Kennels in Co Durham, reporting that in the past six years at least 52 puppies bought there were taken seriously ill in the days after purchase and 11 had died.

Owner Kevin Knox was reported to the RSPCA, but a trading standards investigation found there was insufficient evidence to support formal action. Mr Knox told Watchdog that a great deal of care was taken regarding hygiene and sanitation, but added that sometimes puppies did die.

He is still licensed as a breeder and his business as a pet shop with Durham County Council. The RSPCA declined to comment on the case.

When a Mail on Sunday reporter posing as a customer rang Ivy Leaf Kennels last week to ask about his pups, Mr Knox confirmed he would offer a month’s free Petplan insurance with the animals – proof that he has been registered on Petplan’s Breeder Scheme.

The Petplan scheme has been used by criminal dealers who buy in puppies but pose as breeders.

A gang of six dealers from Greater Manchester, led by former escort Grace Banks, imported hundreds of dogs from puppy farms in Ireland then pretended they had been born at home to family pets.

She and her brother Julian King raked in about £8,000 a week between them by selling puppies in poor health to unwitting animal lovers. When arrested, Banks, 29, was found to have dead puppies in the boot of her Mercedes. The gang were registered with Petplan and offered the insurance cover with their dogs, some of which had just days to live.

One undercover RSPCA investigator who worked on the case said: ‘Petplan’s scheme is inadvertently encouraging massive puppy production.’

The Manchester case resulted in three couples being jailed for a total of 50 weeks after admitting a string of animal welfare offences.

Shih tzus at Poulton's farm, in pitch-black stable blocks where the electric light was broken. The officers on the scene described the animals as 'petrified' 

The gang were selling puppies of various breeds, including chihuahuas, pomeranians, spaniels, shih tzus and Yorkshire terriers, for between £550 and £650 each.

Yet 65 per cent were later found by their heartbroken new owners to have had life-threatening, congenital defects.

A spokesman for anti-puppy farming campaign group Cariad – which has repeatedly warned Petplan of the abuse of its scheme – said last night: ‘We first made Petplan aware of our concerns by way of a formal report in March 2015, expressing deep concerns over the way the Breeder Scheme was being utilised by pet shop licence-holders and that Petplan were not monitoring their scheme in line with their own breeder charter.

‘And as The Mail on Sunday investigation proves, anyone who applies to join the Petplan Breeder Scheme will be accepted.

‘Companies like Petplan are providing a veneer of respectability to puppy sellers who are anything but. There are enough underhand tactics being employed by unscrupulous sellers without nationally respected companies helping them along.’

Ian Briggs, chief inspector for the RSPCA’s special operations unit, said: ‘Unfortunately, assured and registered breeder schemes are used by unscrupulous puppy breeders and dealers to convince prospective buyers that they are credible and responsible.

We showed how anyone can sign up to Petplan’s breeder scheme by applying using bogus names, such as Cruella de Vil. No questions were asked and in less than a week our welcome packs arrived, including one, right, to Mr Cruella De Ville (sic). Inside were ten 30-day insurance vouchers for customers and an invitation to advertise our dogs on Petplan’s Find A Pet website

‘Organisations running such schemes should ensure they carry out necessary checks on the individuals and businesses who sign up so they can be sure they are only endorsing breeders with the highest of welfare standards. Schemes not properly monitored are open to abuse by unscrupulous sellers using them to con the public.’

Petplan said it was reviewing its registration process following our revelations. A spokesman said: ‘This will include certification at initial registration and earlier monitoring of applicants to identify any health issues with their pets.’

Breeders were asked to commit to the charter when registering and subsequently any claims were ‘closely monitored’. But he added: ‘We are not a regulator and cannot police all breeders. As there seems to be some confusion about this, we will make it clearer on our website that it is the responsibility of prospective owners to ensure they know the history of a puppy or kitten before making a purchase.

‘Our priority is to ensure the health and wellbeing of all pets, allowing them access to free veterinary care as they settle into their new homes, should they need it.’

Ivy Leaf Kennels declined to comment last night.