Petition Launched To Ban Import Of Young Puppies After Tommy And Molly-Mae's Pooch Dies

The petition, which was set up on parliament's website, urges the government to "adjust current laws, ban this unethical activity on welfare grounds & protect these poor animals ASAP."

It reads: "Plenty of dogs from UK breeders & rescues need homes. Transporting young pups long distances is often stressful, before being sold for ridiculous prices to unsuspecting dog-lovers," the petition also reads.

"The recent tragic case of a puppy dying just 6 days after being delivered from Russia has exposed a completely legal but immoral route to market for pups bred hundreds of miles away & sold away from their mums.

"Who's actually inspecting these breeders & transportation conditions?

"Selling imported pups like this is cruel & appears to contradict the Government's own advice to always physically 'see puppies interacting with their mothers in their place of birth' as with Lucy's Law in England.'"

The petition was started by multi award winning media vet Marc Abraham, and dog lover, Lucy Parkinson, from Preston - a dog lover who wanted to ensure no more puppies lost their lives through unethical travel.

And since its launch on Saturday (27th June), the petition has now amassed over 18,000 signatures and counting (as of 3pm on Tuesday 30th June) - 10,000 of which landed in the first 24 hours, which means the government must respond.

Supporters of the new petition have included Ricky Gervais and model and campaigner Katie Piper, and even Love Island stars, such as Olivia Attwood and Paige Turley.

They are now calling on their followers to sign the petition, too, in the hope it can reach 100,000 signatures and be debated in parliament.

A fresh conversation has started about the ethics of importing pups after the death of Tommy and Molly-Mae's Pomeranian.

The couple were left heartbroken when their pet pooch passed away just six days after he was transported from Russia.

Addressing criticism from animal rescue charities and campaigners, such as PETA, Molly said in a YouTube video: "Whilst we completely understand everyone's opinions about being shipped over from Russia, what you need to understand is that is not what made him die.

"He was going to die regardless. The autopsy results showed his skull wasn't fully developed and part of his brain was exposed. He didn't have a single white blood cell in his body.

"If we had the time again we would have got a dog from the UK or got a rescue dog from the UK."