More than a third of all puppies bought today will come from puppy farms

New investigation has revealed puppies are kept in illegal conditions

Kept in wooden crates with no natural light in conditions akin to those suffered by battery hens, these shocking pictures show the truth behind the multimillion pound puppy industry.

A new investigation by the BBC's Panorama show looks into the farms which sell thousands of puppies to British owners who are completely unaware they were bred in illegal conditions.

More than a third of all puppies bought today will come from puppy farms – both licensed and unlicensed in what is a growing multimillion pound industry.

A new investigation by the BBC's Panorama show looks into the farms which sell thousands of puppies to British owners who are completely unaware they were bred in illegal conditions

One breeding bitch on a puppy farm can produce £25,000 worth of pups in her lifetime, so if a supplier has several hundred breeding bitches, they are running a multi-million pound business.

This, combined with the rise in demand for designer breeds and fashionable dogs - some of which can fetch thousands - has seen the number of puppy farms in the UK soar.

But many dog-loving Britons have no idea that suppliers breed the dogs in filthy conditions, with no suitable bedding; sawdust in food and water; dogs giving birth in boxes; no disease control and no ventilation or sunlight.

Once the puppies are born, they are often smuggled from farms in remote parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland into England.

Puppy dealers then advertise the dogs online for sale across the country, billing them as as pets bred in their family home.

Dealers have even been known to wheel out 'showbitch' dogs posed as the mothers of the puppies in the event of discerning customers who wish to see the puppies' origins.

The dogs are kept in wooden crates with no natural light in conditions akin to those suffered by battery hens

One breeding bitch on a puppy farm can produce £25,000 worth of pups in her lifetime, so if a supplier has several hundred breeding bitches, they are running a multi-million pound business

The BBC Panorama investigation showed a Northern Irish puppy farm belonging to Eric Hale, one of the biggest licensed dog breeders in the country, with 120 breeding bitches.

His beagles are Kennel Club registered an have even qualified for Crufts - but he is also one of Britain’s most prolific dog dealers.

Mr Hale breeds his dogs and then takes them to England via the night boat to Liverpool. The following day he drives round the country, dropping the dogs off to the next link in the supply chain, from large scale sellers to country lay-by dealers.

Dr John Bradshaw, canine behaviour expert at the University of Bristol, saw secret footage of Hale's puppy farm and said:'If they are in there 24/7 then those dogs are seriously deprived. They are basically in jail.'

The Panorama investigation showed a Northern Irish puppy farm belonging to Eric Hale, one of the biggest licensed dog breeders in the country, with 120 breeding bitches

More than a third of all puppies bought today will come from puppy farms – both licensed and unlicensed in what is a growing multimillion pound industry

In a statement, Eric Hale told the BBC his kennels met 'all the requirements for a breeding establishment'.

He said his dogs were 'well socialised' and there was plenty of bedding, of 'various types', adding that then they travelled, he would 'regularly check, feed and water' the dogs.

But Michelle Williams and her daughter Claudia bought a Norwegian Elkhound puppy, George, from Dogs 4 Us - which was supplied by breeder Eric Hale.

Mrs and Miss Williams, from Manchester, bought George last year for £575 last year, but he soon died of terminal kidney disease.

They described the pain of having to have him put down when George was just one.

Mrs Williams said : '[Claudia] rang me up and she said “Mam, he’s dying.”… And I said “Come on, we need to take him [to put him down] now.”

Many dog-loving Britons have no idea that suppliers breed the dogs in filthy conditions, with no suitable bedding; sawdust in food and water; dogs giving birth in boxes; no disease control and no ventilation

'She said “No, mam. No”. [I'll] never forget that. Because I could see this pain. And—and the the end we agreed.'

Dogs 4 Us is the UK’s biggest puppy superstore chain, which branches in Manchester and Leeds and an impressive celebrity clientele.

BBC Panorama said Eric Hale had supplied Dogs 4 Us for years, and Mrs Williams said he supplied her Norwegian Elkhound puppy.

Nicola Robinson worked for Dogs 4 Us for four years, working her way up to deputy store manager and leaving acrimoniously in 2012.

She left after seeing the conditions the puppies were being subjected to and how the store took in pups from dealers at younger than eight weeks – too young to be transported under UK law.

'Many a times I’ve sat in the back cradling a dog while the dog’s dying', she said.

On its web page, Dogs 4 Us claims all its pedigree puppies ‘come from licensed breeders and are completely traceable’.