How puppies bred in Northern Ireland are being sold in Warrington

Cars are parked outside while a large, gated field stretches alongside Lady Lane. But it’s inside, behind those doors, where the dogs end up after journeying 278 miles from Fivemiletown.

Rumours abound about a dog breeding establishment where a national campaign group dedicated to eradicating puppy farms has raised serious concerns.

Kelly’s Kennels stands accused by the group, One Little Westie, of exploiting loopholes to enable the mass selling of puppies by registering their operation nearly 300 miles away in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Martina Hogg, co-founder of the group, has raised her concerns with Warrington Borough Council. “They have sold well over 100 litters,” she said.

Kelly's Kennels, Croft (Image: NQ)
According to documents, 300 of the breeding bitches are covered by a dog breeding licence in the name of William and Kelly Fenney, the directors and shareholders of Kelly’s Kennels Limited.

“The pups are separated from mum at eight weeks old and shipped from Northern Ireland for sale in Warrington,” she claimed.

Advertisements on Kelly’s own website now identify where each dog has been born, with some breeds being advertised as ‘bred by us in our purpose-built Northern Ireland breeding establishment’.

There are no photographs of the dogs with their mothers on the website.

Sarah from Prescot purchased a Dachshund from Kelly’s Kennels in November 2021.

The puppy was nine weeks old when she brought it home. “I had always wanted a Dachshund,” she recalled.

“I saw them on Instagram initially and had a look around the kennels, then went over to see if I could go and meet a puppy.”

When she arrived, a member of staff informed her that the puppies had “not been put on display yet” and proceeded to bring out three Dachshund puppies from the back.

“When I first went in, there was nothing that concerned me about the kennels. What concerned me was that they were in the back, and we could not see the mum or dad,” Sarah explained.

“We got nothing with the mothers scent on or anything that would keep that puppy feeling safe when we took her home.”

She described how the puppies were visibly shaking and appeared “scared” when they were brought out.

“We took the biggest puppy because she seemed the healthiest,” recalled Sarah who paid £1,250 for the dog.

“We took her on the day; they did not ask for any details, there was nothing else, just the dog.”

‘Baby’

Speaking about the puppy, which she later named Baby, she added: “Baby is a very nervous dog.

“She has always been nervous since the day I bought her. I have two others, and they are so confident, but she seems to be scared of everything.”

Sarah also recounted how Baby was unwell shortly after arriving home. “When I first brought her home, she vomited every day for weeks.”

She became concerned after reading that Kelly’s Kennels might be selling dogs from Ireland and submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out where exactly her puppy was bred and who her parents were.

“The FOI request came back that her microchip was registered in the UK, but when I looked at the details, she had only been microchipped the previous day.”

Requests

Sarah then requested certificates from the kennels to prove that Baby was a pedigree, as advertised on the website.

However, the business was unable to provide these documents and confirmed that the dog was, in fact, not a pedigree.

“I contacted Trading Standards about this; they have taken off the term ‘pedigree’ now on the website and have said that they now have another kennels in Ireland.”

Sarah expressed further concerns about her breed’s susceptibility to hereditary disorders and diseases and requested that the kennels provide paperwork regarding this, after noting that the terms and conditions in the contract provided by the kennels upon purchase stated the dogs were in ‘good health’.

The definition the paperwork provided of ‘good health’ being ‘free of parasites and hereditary disorders’.

Dog-breeding establishment near Clabby in Northern Ireland (Image: Ronan McGrade)
When Kelly’s Kennels could not fulfil her request, she raised the issue with Trading Standards.

After an investigation, a member of Trading Standards explained that they carry out checks on kennels to ensure that dogs have the correct paperwork, but only a specific number of dogs are checked, not all of them in the kennels.

“Every single dog should have paperwork. People need to be aware of what is going on,” she urged.

Janet Thornton, a trustee at local animal shelter Warrington Animal Welfare, claims some of the dogs have “behavioural issues after being separated from their mothers in Ireland” and spoke of how animal shelters across the country are in ‘crisis’ currently due partially to the mass selling of puppies.

“It has never been this bad. It is depressing. We are all on our knees.”

She continued: “We are being offered between five to seven dogs a day to rescue. I have been in rescue for over 40 years and have never known it this bad.

“People should think about where these puppies have come from, because the people who are buying them are keeping this trade going.”

She referred to the act of selling puppies for ‘half price’ like some advertised inside Kelly’s Kennels as “disgusting”.

Despite these allegations, Warrington Borough Council has disputed the claims made against Kelly’s Kennels.

Behavioural issues

Backing up claims of behavioural issues found in dogs who were bred from Kelly’s Kennels and other mass-selling breeders, behaviourist and veterinary nurse of seven years, kat Gibbs described how she knows as soon as she has encountered a dog if it has been bred on a puppy farm.

Kat works at Bold Vets in St Helens and runs her own business, Building Resilience, in which her work often intertwines with the efforts of Warrington Animal Welfare.

“I have seen dogs that have come from Kelly’s Kennels and a lot of them do tend to have anxiety related issues,” she said.

“There is evidence to suggest that if while the mother is gestating, they are under stress this can impact on her puppies.”

Cat emphasised how puppies bred in these environments often miss out on socialising during ‘critical periods of development’.

“99 per cent of the time I can tell before the owner has said, that the dog has come from one of these backgrounds, it is normally very evident.

“They are churning out these puppies in the hundreds and normally they have a variety of different breeds on these sites and the dogs frequently have problems either physically or emotionally."

Highlighting some of the features frequently noticeable in dogs bred in environments like Kelly’s Kennels, the veterinary nurse noted puppies to be ‘really subdued and not wanting to interact’ or the opposite of ‘overbearing’ and wanting constant attention but if left alone in a room they may ‘go into panic mode’.

Kat also commented on how customers of Kelly’s Kennels have not always had the opportunity to meet the mother of the puppy they purchased, adding: “They have to be seen with the parents and especially the mother and if not, this is a big red flag.

“You do not just want to see the mum in the room, you want to see the puppy interact with the mum and interact with her too.”

Despite these allegations, Warrington Borough Council has disputed the claims made against Kelly’s Kennels.

A spokesperson stated: “Kelly’s Kennels is licensed by the council for dog breeding and the selling of dogs as pets. It currently holds a three-star licence and is inspected in accordance with licensing rules.”

After reaching out to Brookside Farm for comment on these allegations, so far, our questions have been met with silence.