Advertisment
The advertising for dog breeders Gallaghers Goldens provided the following information:
“We are a home-based pedigree breeder of Golden Retrievers. We breed to the highest standard to protect the integrity of this wonderful breed.”
Under the frequently asked questions on the website the following two questions were asked:
“What standard do you breed to? We breed to British standards.
How many litters does each breeding female produce? It is our policy to take a maximum of three litters from each of our females.”
Complaint
The complainant said they purchased a Golden Retriever puppy from the advertisers, based on the good breeding practices outlined in their advertising, alongside their statement that their puppies were bred to the “highest standard.” The complainant subsequently found out that the puppy which they had purchased was originally owned by a different breeder and sold on to Gallaghers Goldens. The puppy was registered in the breeder’s name and when the complainant contacted them, they confirmed that they had sold the puppy to the advertisers.
Response
The advertisers said that while they advertised puppies, never at any stage had they said they were their puppies. They said they sold puppies all over the world and if they had extra, they sold them in Ireland.
The advertisers said that their dogs were bred to the highest standards and were IKC registered, microchipped, wormed, vaccinated and both parent’s hip and eye scored. They said they had never indicated that the pup in question had been IKC registered, nor had they indicated that tests had been carried out on the parents of the dog.
In conclusion the advertisers said that false advertising was not a service which they provided, and should the complainant wish to return the puppy they could do so.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. They noted that the advertisement had used phrases such as “We are a home-based pedigree breeder…” “We breed to …” “It is our policy to take a maximum of three litters from each of our females.
The Complaints Committee considered that when the advertising was viewed as a whole, most consumers would consider that any pup purchased would be bred directly and not sourced indirectly from a third party. As this was not always the case, the Committee concluded that the advertisement was in breach of Sections, 4.1, 4.4, 4.9 and 4.10 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The Complaints Committee advised the advertisers that if dogs being sold by them were sourced from a third-party breeder, this fact should be clearly and prominently indicated in their advertising.
