Exposed: pup smuggling racket

THEY SAY a puppy is for life and the Alsharif family were hoping for years of fun-filled happiness with their new pet.

They had no idea it would all end in tears and that the little Labrador they brought home would be dead within days.

The puppy, named Alfie, was suffering from Parvovirus - a fatal, highly-contagious canine viral disease that attacks the lining of the intestines. It had been bred in Thailand, transported to a pet farm in Bahrain and sold to the unsuspecting family.

According to one of the kingdom's leading vets Alfie was one of a growing contingent of animals imported from the Far East every month and arriving in this country on falsified documents.

Dr Nonie Coutts and her staff at her surgery in Manama have now compiled a database of more than 70 puppies bred in Thailand whose accompanying documentation they believe is false.

She said: "It's a terrible situation and cannot be allowed to continue. Distraught owners bring their sick animals in and often there is little we can do to save them.

"I am happy that more people in Bahrain are discovering the pleasures of dogs and cats as pets but these animals from Thai pet markets and puppy farms are not a good idea."

Many arrive without adequate vaccinations, riddled with diseases and with accompanying paperwork which often incorrectly states their breed, age, description and even sex.

Alfie was only nine weeks old, almost a month younger then the legal requirement for importation when his owners bought him for BD290.

"Although we heard there can be problems with dogs imported from Thailand mainly due to inter-breeding we were not particularly concerned if our Labrador was not a full pedigree," explained Sarah Alsharif, a housewife from Saar.

"We looked into importing from the UK but it was too expensive so we decided to buy from Thailand. Afterwards I asked myself why I had done it. I knew it was a risk and I felt very foolish."

When Mrs Alsharif went to pick up the puppy, the owner of the pet farm warned her that the puppy would suffer from diarrhoea for a few days and also hinted that the animal would need vaccinations.

"My alarm bells went off when he said that the paperwork and vaccinations weren't with him, and that it was worth getting all the vaccinations redone," said Mrs Alsharif.

The family took the dog home but within days the animal was vomiting and desperately ill. Dr Coutts diagnosed Parvovirus but was unable to save him. Six days after buying the animal, it was dead.

"When Alfie got sick and died it was just devastating and I felt foolish and hoodwinked and angry. My son Yusuf, 11, was distraught and his older brothers were miserable. If he had been vaccinated as his papers said, he wouldn't have got ill.

"We are fairly intelligent people and we thought how did we fall for that one?"

But the Alsharif family are not alone.

Dr Coutts has seen scores of sick and underage dogs imported from Thailand on falsified documents over the past few years.

"I rarely see a Thai vaccination book that matches the puppy it belongs to," explained Dr Coutts. "Often the age stated on the books is completely wrong, and the books are not filled in properly with a description of the breed, sex and colour. This means that the animal cannot be identified as the one which supposedly received the vaccinations described in the book.

"Many of the dogs we see are supposed to have had two rabies vaccinations but they are too young to have received these vaccinations and their immune systems are not mature enough to have responded anyway. Some of the dogs are months younger then their documents claim.

"Some of them are so young they would have to have been vaccinated before they were even born.

"These vaccination books are falsified so that the puppies can be exported from Thailand, before they are legally old enough at three months and can be admitted for import here where government regulations stipulate a pup must be at least three months old and fully vaccinated. The problem is that tiny puppies are much more saleable and cute than older ones."

Dr Coutts also believes a significant number of them also have inherited congenital problems like 'cherry eye' and skeletal deformities which need surgery to allow then to lead a normal life.

"Sadly many of these pups go on to be bred here in Bahrain when they are older and pass on their poor genetics to future generations of dogs," she said.

Even more worrying is the fact that many of these animals are carrying a host of diseases, she warned.

Dr Coutts has treated imported Thai dogs suffering from numerous infections including mange, kennel cough, distemper, parvovirus, pneumonia and worms - conditions she said are picked up in overcrowded puppy farms or pet shops.

"If you combine the factors - a tiny underage puppy, an unhygienic pet market situation, the stress of transport in a cage thousands of miles by air - then it is hardly surprising they arrive here weak and sick and many subsequently die," she explained.

Despite having stamps that confirm they have been inoculated against the disease, many Thai dogs like Alfie have arrived in Bahrain carrying canine parvovirus which has spread to the local population.

"In December all nine of our puppies died from Parvovirus," said BSPCA sanctuary manager Sandy Carter. "It is the most awful disease to watch a dog die of and it's become a big problem here.

"We get the knock-on effect from imported dogs that aren't vaccinated. People simply should not buy them from pet shops and farms. The animals are sometimes kept in dreadful conditions and people feel sorry for them and buy them because they want to save them. But people shouldn't visit the farms at all. If there is no demand there will be no supply.

"There are no laws that protect animals coming in or out and unless there are high penalties people will continue to bring animals in illegally."

Her view is echoed by Dr Coutts who fears that unless regulations are beefed up other more dangerous diseases may be imported into Bahrain with the animals.

"It's only a matter of time before something really bad comes in with these dogs," she warned.

She also feared that if vaccinations were not carried out there is chance of rabies being imported.

Dr Coutts explained: "The chance of these very young puppies having had contact with a rabid animal is extremely slim, but if we cannot believe the documentation that accompanies the puppies, it is difficult to have any faith that the correct procedures have been followed to ensure that the animals are bred in safe and healthy conditions."

Dr Salman A Ibrahim, head of the Animal Health Directorate and quarantine section admitted that there was a problem, but said Thailand was not the only country that tried to export animals without adequate documentation or vaccinations.

"We face problems from all countries," he said. "We tell people not to bring young animals in as they have no immunity and have not had the right vaccinations. But we can't stop them.

"We are not turning a blind eye but if an underage animal comes in, should we send it back or kill it, or take it to quarantine and perform the relevant tests and vaccinate it? If I make rules that if an underage dog comes here, it must be killed I will clash with animal welfare regulations.

"The problem is the rules of other countries that are not transparent. Some countries are very good, like those in Europe, but others we don't' believe at all.

"It is true that some of the vaccination books are false, but how can we stop these false documents? It is easy to say but very difficult to do."

He added that testing all the animals they believed to be imported on false documents would be very expensive.

Dr Coutts suggests that all animals from countries where rabies exist should be micro-chipped, vaccinated, and blood tested at approved government laboratories before they are allowed to travel to Bahrain.

"Importers should have all that paper work in place and validated by our government animal health department before they are issued an import licence," she urged. "Any animals that do not comply should then be subject to a month's quarantine, vaccination and blood testing at the owner's expense.

"This all needs to be done officially at government level for it to work. We desperately need laws and regulations to protect us and our animals here."

GulfWeekly contacted vets in Thailand who authorised vaccination documents of animals which have subsequently fallen sick and they all denied any wrong-doing.

A spokesperson for the Thai Embassy said: "This is the first time we have heard about this matter. We will investigate and inform the relevant authorities in Thailand."