Prof. Scott Weese, Department of Pathobiology in U of G’s Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), spoke to CBC Marketplace for an investigative report on the lack of federal regulation of puppy importation.

Weese told CBC it’s a problem that he and other veterinarians have warned about for years. The puppies bred for export from Ukraine and other countries are typically raised in poor conditions, leading to disease and medical conditions in these dogs once they arrive in Canada. What’s more, the imported puppies can also carry dangerous zoonotic diseases.

Weese made recommendations to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which regulates animal imports, as early as 2016, but he told CBC News that those recommendations were not implemented and the problem is as rampant as ever. Flights of imported puppies land at Canada’s airports multiple times a week, he said.

Weese is the chief of infection control at OVC and the director of U of G’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

Watch the CBC Marketplace episode below.