Charity bosses fear rabies and other diseases could be brought into the UK through Kent if more is not done to curb puppy smuggling.

The Dogs Trust Canterbury, which has a centre in Radfall Road, Chestfield, says it has seen a huge influx of puppies bred in eastern Europe entering the country illegally.

A six-month undercover investigation by the charity revealed the high level of corruption at the heart of the puppy smuggling trade, exposing the welfare risks imposed on both dogs and humans.

The trust’s Laura Vallance said: “The puppies are going through Kent and the county is seeing the majority of them coming through in huge volumes.

“They are not being picked up,

“We have got to take the risk of rabies very seriously.

“We don’t have rabies in this country and we are very lucky that we don’t, but it’s not just rabies – these dogs could be carrying other diseases.”

Rabies is a severe and often fatal disease that affects a dog’s brain and its central nervous system. Miss Vallance says the government now needs to do more to stop the illegal trade.

She added: “We don’t believe the government and Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) is doing enough in terms of inspection.

“I think it’s fair to say trading standards in Kent are under huge pressure and they don’t have the resources to crack down enough.

“There’s no real deterrent for people doing this.

“With puppies there are often very few prosecutions and we want to see more enforcement for the people who are caught.

“We want to see quite high on-the-spot fines.”

Miss Valance says the trade has hurt the trust’s efforts in rehoming dogs from its Chestfield base.

She said: “It’s an issue for the whole organisation. We have a lot of young dogs and we want people to get young dogs, but with this trade it makes it more difficult for us to rehome other dogs.”

To contact the Dogs Trust, call 01227 792505 or visit them at Radfall Road, Chestfield, Whitstable, CT5 3ER.