Killing cubs – Mass killings on the border:

Swedish customs officials are currently revealing many attempts to smuggle dogs into Sweden.

– We have seen a clear increase during the corona pandemic. Many are at home and many have chosen to buy a dog; plus, prices have gone up, Niklas Delin tells Dagbladet.

– I’ve never seen anything like it

Delin is a group manager at Skåne Customs and says smuggling dogs are currently arriving.

– I’ve never been a part of it, he tells SVT Nyheter Skåne.

The smuggling attempts have a sad end. Dogs must be euthanized by an on-site vet.

38 puppies killed in 10 days

At the end of the month, over the course of ten days, 38 cubs were found that had been smuggled in.

– It is mainly the small dog breeds that are being smuggled. The Maltese breed is very popular and the one we kill most often. There are a lot of them, Delin tells Dagbladet.

Smuggled puppies must be euthanized to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Only one in 31 was detained at the border

Delin says that smuggling attempts have changed in the last ten years.

– Before, they tried to smuggle dogs by hiding them, but today they come with passes for European dogs. The only problem is that they are not authentic, but counterfeit.

Driving just past the test center

Missing vaccines

Customs officials take samples from the dogs to verify the content of the dog passports.

– So we see again and again that they do not have the vaccines listed in the passport, for example, they lack a vaccine against rabies. It is very important that we take care of this and that the EU regulations are followed.

When the dogs are brought to customs, customs officials call in a vet who kills the dogs in a separate room.

“They didn’t go to customs to help kill puppies,” Delin says with a sigh of relief.

Usually smugglers come with three or four dogs at a time.

– Before we saw bigger parties, so this is done so as not to attract attention, explains Delin.