IRELAND HAS BEEN dubbed the puppy farming capital of Europe. Every year, tens of thousands of dogs are bred for profit, often by backyard sellers and illegal breeders in cruel conditions that lead to devastating conclusions.

Animals are suffering as illegal and unscrupulous breeders north and south of the border, exploit gaps in regulation and enforcement, while puppies are trafficked into lucrative overseas markets.

We witnessed the brutal reality of illegal dog breeding on a Sunday afternoon three years ago. At our gate, on an isolated road in rural Fermanagh, stood an emaciated white shepherd. She had shambled up our driveway, matted in mud and covered in scars and open sores.

The lovely Wraith was in a bad way when abandoned on a country road in Fermanagh. Emma DeSouza Emma DeSouza

It was clear she had been starved; her ears were severely damaged from untreated infection, and her distended teats suggested she had very recently been bred, then discarded once she was no longer of use. She was abandoned on a remote lane near the Irish border.

That evening we named her Wraith – aptly given she was a walking skeleton at 18kg. By contrast, today she is a remarkably spry 38kg. The day she walked up our drive, we gave her a medicated bath, fed her a light meal to not overwhelm her system, and one at a time, introduced her to our three boys; Galaxy, Shadow and Rogue, who all somehow seemed to understand the fragility of her condition.

Reversing the cruelty

What followed were six months of extensive recovery; the vets could not determine her precise age, but estimated that she was between six and eight years old, and that she had had many litters, including at least one delivered by caesarean.

Her ear canals were so badly damaged that they had calcified and malformed, and she would scream if the........

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