100,000 dogs going stranded? “Retired breeding dog” being let go February 5th 6:57am

``Woof woof!'' ``Can ya!''

Dogs of all sizes stare at us from among the many cages.

Is this a pet shop? ?

No, this is a shelter for dogs.

Even though they are protected, they are not stray dogs or abandoned dogs. Retired breeding dogs were bred to produce puppies sold at pet shops. These are dogs that gave birth to puppies at a breeder, and then were let go after their role was completed.

Some estimates put the number at 100,000. Something unusual is happening in the pet industry. (Good Morning Japan Directors Hiroshi Murata, Haruka Takeuchi)

Up to 15 dogs per breeder

``I had to let go, sobbing and crying. We are already in the red this year,''

says a woman who has been a dog breeder for over 20 years.

In the past few years up until last year, the number of people owning pets increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the price of puppies skyrocketed. However, as the restrictions on going out were lifted and people returned to their normal lives, the prices of dogs also dropped dramatically.

In addition, the soaring prices of food and utilities have increased, making management difficult.

Adding to the financial difficulties is the 2019 revision of the Animal Welfare and Management Act. Accordingly, the Ministry of the Environment has established detailed numerical standards.

Breeders are limited to 15 breeding dogs per staff member (25 cats). Furthermore, breeding dogs can only give birth up to 6 years old, and up to 6 times.

The female breeder used to raise around 150 dogs, but now six people, including the staff, can breed less than 90 dogs.

Moreover, dogs that would have been breeding dogs in the past have had to be retired due to numerical regulations, and the number of dogs that have been retired from breeding has increased rapidly.

Last year, for the first time, the woman surrendered 20 dogs to a shelter that protects retired breeding dogs.

Female Breeder:

``Even after the breeding period, dogs still have to pay for food, cages, and utilities.Up until now, even after the puppies were born, we have taken care of them until the end, but there is a limit to the number of dogs that can be kept.'' Once it was done, I had no choice but to let it go.I feel sorry for the dogs, but...when I think about our own lives, I feel like I have to let them go.''

Purpose of law revision: Elimination of malicious breeders

The main purpose of the law change is to eliminate unscrupulous breeders.

Until now, businesses that breed dogs in poor conditions by confining them in small cages and not providing adequate care have been exposed one after another.

Three years ago, it was revealed that a pet seller in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, was keeping 450 dogs in cages with poor hygiene. They were also not given enough food.

Furthermore, there were suspicions that the dog had been subjected to a Caesarean section without anesthesia, leading to criticism of the unscrupulous breeder.

Abandoned deep in the mountains? Shiba Inu dogs

Retired breeding dogs are let go by their breeders for various reasons, including poor business management, and have nowhere else to go. As we continued our investigation, we discovered that there were cases where it appeared that the items had been abandoned in the mountains.

This is Chiharu Yamamoto, who sent us the information. We rescued 17 Shiba Inu dogs in a remote mountain area on the border between Kochi and Tokushima prefectures.

They are estimated to be between 4 and 6 years old, and are purebred Shiba Inu dogs, not mongrels.

Although the details of who abandoned the dogs and why are not known, Mr. Yamamoto, who has been involved in wild dog protection activities for the past 10 years, was surprised to find so many purebred Shiba Inu dogs in the same place over and over again.

Chiharu Yamamoto

: ``When I was driving through the mountains, I saw a skinny Shiba Inu walking by, and when I showed him a treat, he came up to me.It was natural that there were many Shiba Inu children around the same age, around 5 years old. I thought that was impossible.If an adult dog had given birth to one dog and a puppy, I would think that it must have been bred in the wild.But when I visited a veterinary hospital, it seemed that the dog had given birth before. That's what happened. After I rescued her, I put out a call on social media, and a foster family was immediately found and she was taken in. I think that's a terrible thing to do.

I expected this to happen

How should we think about the situation where a large number of retired breeding dogs are given up due to numerical regulations being one of the factors? In fact, experts point out that this situation was foreseen from the moment the country decided on numerical regulations.

Professor Jun Saeki: ``

As long as puppies are sold at pet shops, there are always parents for those puppies.We knew that if breeders were to limit the number of dogs they could keep, there would be an overflow of retired dogs. In anticipation of the overflow, there was a gradual grace period of two years for the numerical regulations.I believe that the pet industry's lack of effort has created the current situation. We rely on animal welfare organizations and shelters that support them, and if the adoptions don't progress, they will end up with a large number of animals."

In principle, breeders and other breeders are required to keep their breeding dogs for life, continuing to care for them even after they have finished their role, and caring for them until the end of their lives.

However, while numerical regulations were being set, language was added that would allow businesses to transfer ``retired breeding dogs'' as an exception.

Professor Saeki points out that the revised law will require breeders to care for retired dogs in a way that anticipates their future lives.

``Many breeding dogs today are kept in cages and have never been walked with a collar on.If the numerical regulations increase the number of dogs that are given away at an early stage, eventually it will become more common through adoption, etc. In order for people to keep them, they need to be trained to walk and use the toilet.After they finish their role as breeding dogs at the age of six, they have the rest of their lives.''

Trouble arises behind the spread of “transfer”…

Under these circumstances, "adoption events" are being held all over the country where the general public can adopt retired breeding dogs.

However, there are voices complaining of trouble regarding this "transfer". This time, NHK Scoop Link received a variety of information.

“Scoop Link” is a window for providing information on “Close-up Gendai”

One of them is Choco, who adopted a Chihuahua dog that was retired from breeding. When we noticed that he was missing his lower teeth, we took him to the vet and discovered that the bone in his jaw had melted away.

This is thought to be due to untreated periodontal disease.

Furthermore, there have been cases of financial troubles occurring with conservation organizations.

Mr. Okamura (pseudonym) adopted a 7-year-old Shiba Inu from a protection organization. It is said that he had to pay more than 120,000 yen at the time of delivery. At that time, he was asked for a monthly donation of 3,000 yen and was also encouraged to purchase a designated dog food regularly.

Mr. Okamura said he had doubts, saying, ``Even though it's called adoption, isn't this a ``protection business'' where people make money by selling dogs adopted from breeders?''

Financial troubles related to transfers have also been reported to others.

When NHK asked an organization that transfers rescued retired breeding dogs how they are responding to the comments received, he answered as follows.

``We ask for donations on a voluntary basis, but we would like to ask for your understanding in paying a certain amount, as food and utility costs for the dog will be incurred.As for food and insurance, we have set up a complaint handling desk and are working to make improvements. I want to continue working to increase the number of happy people who adopt dogs."

Make people aware of retired breeding dogs at the place where they “buy” pets.

Under these circumstances, the pet industry has begun to seek ways to make the general public aware of the existence of retired breeding dogs.

A pet shop opened last year at a large home center in Ami Town, Ibaraki Prefecture. The dog next to the puppy is a retired breeding dog.

They want people to consider this as one of their options when purchasing a pet. The price is around 100,000 yen, which is about half to one-third the price of a puppy.

At pet shops, we make sure to carefully explain the health status and vaccination status of retired breeding dogs, as well as the risk of diseases due to age.

Ryuta Hasegawa, director of AHB Co., Ltd

.: ``Up until now, pet shops have only handled puppies and kittens, so this will be our first challenge.After deducting the cost of spaying and vaccinations, there is no profit for the store from breeding retired dogs. We would like to move forward with this project while helping the general public understand that pets are a social issue."

We also spoke to a family who actually adopted a retired dog from this store.

Mitsuhiro Seno's family had thought that if they were going to buy a pet, they would want a puppy, but when they learned about the existence of ``retired breeding dogs'' at this store, they changed their mind.

A 4-year-old female French bulldog that we welcomed into our family. He says he is now a good playmate for his two sons.

Mitsuhiro Seno

: ``This kind of encounter happened in our family, so rather than saying thank you for giving birth to as many retired breeding dogs as possible, I think we would be happier if we had a home that warmly welcomed us and said, ``Thank you for your hard work.'' I think so.”

Puppies being traded, behind the scenes...

During this interview, we also visited a puppy auction site. Puppies that are just two months old are displayed one after another on a monitor and are put up for auction.

Approximately 1,000 fish are said to be traded at the auction, which is held once a week.

Definitely cute puppies. On the other hand, my heart tightened when I thought about the situation faced by retired breeding dogs.

Perhaps this is an issue that we can change by thinking about and trying to find out more about the conditions in which the puppies we see at pet stores were bred, and what happens to their mothers afterward. yeah.

The content of this time will be broadcast on "Close Up Gendai" on February 5th.

Close-up Gendai: “Wandering retired breeding dogs: Chasing changes in the pet industry”

Scheduled to be broadcast from 7:30pm on Monday, February 5th

Good Morning Japan Director

Hiroshi Murata

Joined the company in 2011

The opportunity for reporting came from a child who said, ``I want a dog.''

Good Morning Japan Director

Haruka Takeuchi

After completing the interview for

joining the company in 2023 , I would like to use my imagination to breed dogs that give birth to cute puppies.