AS MUCH as a third of calls the Scottish SPCA receive about the welfare of new puppies relate to Fife, figures show.

A total of 209 calls to the animal charity's helpline in regards to puppy-farming, sales or breeding were made from the Kingdom in 2020, while the overall figure for that time period across Scotland was 617.

Although the SSPCA say these stats are not completely accurate because calls without an address are logged to their head office in Dunfermline, puppy-farming is still undoubtedly a problem in Fife.

Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn told the Times that illicit puppy farmers were causing a lot of "misery" to both families and animals.

"Covid has caused huge problems because a lot of dealers will advertise on Gumtree and say you can't see the puppy because of restrictions," he said.

"You've never seen the puppy before, they'll use a burner phone and meet you in a car park somewhere.

"It's just amazing how many people have fallen for that and are willing to spend £3,000 on a dog.

"Other times, there is not even a puppy to buy and they'll ask you to put a deposit down and you never hear from them again.

"I've spoken to many people who have been so shocked at the state of the puppy, that they've just bought it because they didn't want it left with the breeder."

The SSPCA have found some dealers come over from Ireland on ferries and will target the Central Belt specifically for trading. In just one trip with five puppies, they could make £12,000 in a day.

Mike explained: "Some of the conditions these puppies are reared in are horrendous. Many are taken away far too soon from their mums and because litters are all transported together, they'll pick up viruses.

"However, it normally takes a week before it takes hold and they've already sold the puppy on by then. It means people are then hit with extortionate vet bills on top of what they've just paid.

"These dealers are making money out of total misery – they're heartless.

"Of course, there's the welfare of these puppies to consider and the financial implications but just the psychology of it – children are left devastated when the puppy dies.

"Dealers in Ireland can just pop over on the ferry and be back home the same day so that's why it's better if they go on a trip to Fife rather than Aberdeen. They target the biggest market.

"They can be in and out and you'll never see them again.

"Those who have made contact with them again because their puppy is ill have even had death threats and might not be willing to say anything, so numbers are probably even higher than we've reported.

"These people are making huge amounts of money because of Covid," Mike added.

"We've had someone in court that proudly told the judge he had made £1.5 million in 18 months from puppy sales and then was fined £2,000. So where is the deterrent?

"We've noticed HMRC following these cases up now though and actually chasing people for tax.

"One dealer was hit with a £500,000 tax bill and that shut them down. It's not the way we expected them to be stopped but at least it's shutting them down."