The Kennel Club is to conduct spot checks on accredited dog breeders to weed out unscrupulous puppy farmers who ignore welfare standards to breed for profit.

A team of regional inspectors is to be appointed within weeks to make unannounced visits to accredited breeders and to follow up any complaints made against named individuals.

The move by the beleaguered charity is a clear attempt to show critics that it is determined to root out rogue traders from the canine world.

The club has been on the back foot since the BBC’s controversial documentary, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, which claimed many champion show dogs were bred by methods which encouraged deformities and disease in animals.

The footage provoked an immediate backlash, with the RSPCA and the Dogs’ Trust severing links with Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show which is organised by the club.

The BBC has also launched a review of TV coverage of the show which last year attracted 14.5 million viewers over four days. Negotiations are still continuing.

The Kennel Club was dealt a further blow last week when Pedigree, the pet food manufactuer, announced that it was withdrawing sponsorship of Crufts after a relationship lasting 44 years.

The club is thought to have received as much as £1.5 million a year funding from the firm, though others suggest the sum is closer to £500,000. Pedigree’s endorsement, however, has also attracted other sponsors, who might also now decide to review their cash support for the show.

Pedigree still intends to have a stand at the show, which is to be held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham next March.

The club has already attempted to put its house in order and earlier this month announced a review of breed standards for 209 pedigree dogs. New rules are to be in place before the end of the year.

Many breed societies have condemned this offensive as a panic reaction. But the club is insistent and the first breeds to face scrutiny are the Pekingese, the Clumber Spaniel, Bloodhounds, Bulldog, Mastiff, German Shepherd Dog, Basset Hound and St Bernard.

Hilary Benn, the Rural Affairs Secretary, has also been asked by the club for new statutory powers to ban breeders from selling puppies if they fail to comply with health standards.

There is particular concern about people who seize on canine fashion to breed large numbers of a particular pedigree.

A club spokesperson said: “We’ve noticed that puppy farmers try to make a fast buck when certain breeds are seen as fashion accessories. There were a lot of chihuahua puppies for sale for example after Paris Hilton was seen carrying her pet chihuahua in her handbag. Similarly there was a proliferation of shar-peis after David Beckham bought one.”

She said the problem was that were as many as 20,000 dog breeders in the UK but only 3,000 were members of its accredited breeder scheme.

The club does not believe its accredited breeders are responsible for cruel breeding methods but they intend to find out the truth. Inspectors will keep a tighter check on the practices of all these people.

Breeders who follow the highest health and welfare practices will also stand out and are to be awarded a certificate of excellence. Breed mentors are to be appointed who can be called on to give advice to novice breeders and potential buyers of a particular breed.

Caroline Kisko, secretary of the Kennel Club, said the aim was for the accredited breeders’ scheme to be recognised nationally as “a bastion of quality and excellence in dog breeding and will further help the public to distinguish between good and bad breeders, so that they can make responsible choices when they are buying a dog”.

She also advised anyone wishing to buy a puppy to go to an accredited club breeder. “They should certainly never go to a pet shop, whose stock may come from puppy farmers, or buy from somebody who is selling from neutral territory, such as a service station, where the puppies are not seen in their home evironment.”

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