Dozens of puppies on flight from Ukraine arrive in Canada dead

Dozens of dead puppies have been discovered on a passenger plane travelling from Ukraine to Canada. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight from Kiev was carrying approximately 500 young French bulldogs, 38 of which were dead upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport last Saturday. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is investigating the incident, told The Independent that “many of the dogs were suffering from dehydration, weakness and/or vomiting”. Animal welfare campaigners allege that the case is merely the tip of a thriving puppy farming business in Ukraine, driven by demand for thoroughbred puppies from unwitting consumers who are unaware of their new pet’s history. “These commercial operations are run by large puppy mills that house and breed hundreds and thousands of dogs every year in typically unsterile conditions where the dogs are crammed together,” Lucas Hixson of SPCA International said from Slavutych. In a social media post on Friday, UIA acknowledged the incident, writing: “Everyone at UIA offers its condolences for the tragic loss of animal life on our flight. UIA is working with local authorities to determine what happened and to make any changes necessary to prevent such a situation from occurring again.”<br/>