Saturday, 15 November 2014
Puppy sandwich anyone?
I don't find it at all difficult to understand why a Northampton based sandwich making concern are recruiting staff from Hungary despite the town having almost 8,000 unemployed. The company are looking for an energetic, compliant workforce who will do 12 hour shifts in freezing temperatures and be happy with the minimum wage; and Eastern Europe is full of such poor souls. There seems little chance of the situation changing because there is little chance of seeing once again the kind of confident, organised working class that was the bane of the Daily Mail before the curse of the Thatcher Dynasty descended on the nation. I understand perfectly capital's fondness for Hungarian sandwich makers but what I do find difficult to get my head round is the apparent need for this country to import puppies from abroad. I know that we have a skill shortage but surely we can breed our own dogs. Can it really be cheaper to import puppies when the only labour involved is the bitch's? I thought that I understood globalisation but clearly I have some way to go. So much to learn - so little time.
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A lot to cover here. I have been advising successive governments on this problem and have produced reports on it. There is a massive trade of puppies bred in countries like Ireland and various European countries, in puppy farms with turnovers exceeding several £million per year. The puppies are sold in dubious pet shops and on motorways often with false papers and in potential ill health, no vaccinations etc. I understand that the Irish Govt is not too keen to lose this income.
Then there is the legitimate import and export trade involving the imports of pedigree dogs for breeding. A massive business, involving many £millions. It has accelerated with revisions to rabies and quarantine requirements.To give an example, a good stud dog imported from say, the US or Germany, might be worth two or three thousand, and can produce around 300 puppies selling at over one thousand in a year.Go to the large dog shows, one every couple of weeks, and see thousands of dogs on display at each one, many produced from imports. Its international big business, and not all bad when you consider the billions, yes billions of turnover in the accessory industry, not to mention animal foods and veterinary livelihoods. My last litter was from an imported male from the US, with an impeccable health record. One before that was from a long dead male who had 'donated' my champion via AI.
The trade goes both ways: the UK export millions of pounds worth of dogs to countries, like Japan and Russia, where there is an increasing demand for quality pedigree dogs.
But on the dark side dogs are being illegally exported to countries like Korea and China as food products. My condemnation of this - and the horrific conditions in which they are kept before slaughter - was condemned by a Guardian writer who thought it racist to criticize other cultures. Sheer bollocks, as the Guardian appear unaware of active grass roots animal welfare movements in these countries who are risking imprisonment to stamp out this barbaric activity.
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