South Korea is the only country in Asia to intensively breed dogs to be eaten But the majority of the South Korean public reject the trade, and activists are working hard to stop it (Picture: Jean Chung) Claire holds Mocha, a UK-bound dog in front of his cage at the Namyangju farm (Picture: Jean Chung)Opinion polls show that 72% of citizens in Yulin don’t regularly eat dog, despite efforts by meat traders to promote it.

Mark Billingham in Haiti, where his charity helps children living in poverty (Image: HANDOUT)The father-of-six, who is more open and engaging than his TV persona during a video call to his home in Herefordshire, explains that the global trade in ivory taken from elephants and rhinos is so lucrative the poachers are often better equipped than those guarding the animals.

Scientists found that several brands contained endangered species but listed only vague ingredients such as “ocean fish”, meaning that consumers are often oblivious.“The majority of pet owners are likely lovers of nature, and we think most would be alarmed to discover that they could be unknowingly contributing to the overfishing of shark populations,” said the study authors, Ben Wainwright and Ian French, of Yale-NUS College, Singapore.

Campaigners have argued that breeds that are part wildcat are unsuitable for most pet owners owing to their complex needs, and put pressure on rare felines in the wild because an increased demand for these cats means some breeders resort to the illegal wildlife trade to find wildcats to breed from.

Concerns that hamsters might also be capable of infecting humans first surfaced when a 23-year-old worker at the Little Boss pet shop in Hong Kong tested positive for Covid on 15 January – the city’s first Delta variant diagnosis for more than three months.

A BBC and Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigation found puppies were being bred in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and illegally moved across to Great Britain through Belfast port to cater for the rocketing demand for pets during the Covid lockdown.

Dog owners may also be invited to register their dogs with local police forces to make them easier tot track if they are stolen (Picture: Getty Images)The report concludes: ‘There is growing public feeling that criminal law and the sentencing for offences involving the theft of pets do not sufficiently recognise an animal as something more than mere property.

Thanks to the continued commitment of 2021 seemingly to give me simultaneous infarctions in every organ, the week opened with the news that Ian “Beefy” Botham is to become the new trade envoy for Australia and John Cleese is to host a new series looking at “wokeness” and “cancel culture”.Now look.

Of the approximately 66,000 dogs imported to the UK last year, 843 puppies were seized at the border, up from 324 in 2019.In one case, four eight-week-old beagle puppies – believed to have been illegally brought into the UK from Ireland – were found hungry and dehydrated in the back of an abandoned vehicle in London.

STOCK IMAGE Dogs Trust have rescued 1,500 illegally imported puppies (Image: Getty Images ) STOCK IMAGE Dogs Trust is urging the Government to do more to end puppy smuggling (Image: Getty Images)The youngest puppies seized were just four weeks old.

The European Commission says the choice to end free movement “inevitably means that business travel between the EU and the UK will no longer be as easy as it currently is”.

Animal-welfare organisations, which have lobbied for a ban for years, say that as well as causing immense suffering, the trade threatens wild populations and risks spreading diseases to owners.

Dogs Trust say they’ve now rescued 100 illegally imported puppies since March and fear the beagles – named Biscuit, Bandit, Brian and Boo – are the latest victims of smugglers.

As a Dutch reader living in the UK, I was pleased to see John Crace (Digested week , 9 October) refer to the Dutch “activity” of niksen, ie, of “doing nothing”.

Millions of live wild animals are being legally imported into the UK from hot spots of emerging diseases , risking the spread of lethal viruses , researchers have discovered.

Sonul Badiani-Hamment, UK external affairs adviser at World Animal Protection, said that a global effort is needed to end the exotic pet trade.

China could finally ban the eating of dog meat ahead of the barbaric Yulin Festival (Image: GETTY) China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has officially announced dogs are pets and not livestock (Image: GETTY)Animal charity Humane Society International (HSI) welcomed the decision and called for an end to the Yulin Festival.

Dogs in China’s live animal markets are often stolen as pets or snatched off the streets as strays (Picture: Reuters)A city in China has made history by becoming the first authority in the mainland to ban the consumption and production of dog and cat meat.

Shenzhen is set to become the first city in mainland China to ban the eating of dogs and cats, if a draft regulation released by the municipal government in a wider push to restrict the consumption of wild animals is approved.

The deaths come as the RSPCA says that complaints about illegal puppy farming have increased dramatically over the past 10 years and that 87% of current puppy trade calls are about animals purchased online.