[David] We're undercover at
Canada's busiest airport where a lucrative cargo
is being unloaded. It's David; anybody
else on the radio? Yup, I'm in the parking
lot just above the Turkish cargo. [David] Before anyone can
cash in, those picking up are gathering
and seem nervous. I think they're coming over. He's coming over. [David] Spot one of our
cameras, sending in security. [David] We have to get out. We'll go. [David] But we aren't giving up. This is a months long
investigation just getting started. And it begins with a
man and his best friend. This is Titus and
his new owner Adam! Good boy, Titus! [David] Adam's dad died just
months ago after a terrible battle with cancer. It left a hole in Adam's heart. It took me a long time to be
able to open up after and feel as though I could
care and love somebody. [David] He decides now
is the time for a puppy. He goes looking online. I went on Kijiji that
morning then that evening. He was in the car
on the way home. [David] May I ask
how much you paid? So, it's $3,500, cash. [David] Big money going to
a seller who's no breeder. It became clear to me that
he had been shipped over. He had been
imported from the Ukraine. And Adam worries, he's just
become part of what he sees as a big problem. The mass importation of foreign
puppies, sometimes with deadly consequences. Toronto airport officials
are investigating a gruesome discovery aboard a
flight from Ukraine. [David] On board that flight,
approximately 500 puppies crammed
tight into crates. Often destined to be sold online
in Canada, dropped off nearly a day earlier in Ukraine,
left in the blistering sun. Nearly 40 of them would die
en route, reportedly dumped in garbage bags at
Toronto's Pearson airport. I think that I was
poorly informed. We as Canadians have to look at
our role in it in terms of our laws allowing for it to
happen and for the demand of consumers like me that allow for
these dogs to then be purchased here
in this country. [David] Just like Adam, we have
questions for the government. But first, we want to understand
who's making money, lots of it, selling foreign
puppies in Canada. Chihuahua puppy,
Golden Labrador, French bulldog puppy, $3000, $1700, $2700. Our producers are going to
pay these sellers a visit. I'll get you to hold this one. [David] Using hidden camera. We're even tracking down
Adam's seller. But when we ask to see her
puppies, she's suddenly playing hard to get. So, while they wait, we're
at the university of Guelph's vet college. So, you're the guy who knows
how easy it is to get a dog into this country. Well, it's incredibly easy, it's
easier to bring a dog in than a case of beer. [David] Dr Scott Weese tracks
the sales of imported puppies. Do you know how many
puppies come into this country? Well, we know it's
in the thousands. How many thousands? We just have no idea. [David] But we
should know, he says. One thing we do know. There are dozens of puppy mills
in Ukraine offering to sell litters of puppies
to Canadian brokers. Scott, I want to
show you some video. We get our hands on this video
showing what it's like for some dogs used for
breeding in Ukraine. Not very good conditions. No cleaning, not anything you
want to house any type of animal in. What does that do for that dog's
behavioural status and its health status. [David] And we learn planes with
puppies from eastern Europe have been arriving weekly
with big profit potential. We're talking millions in
one shipment potentially. [David] So how many
shipments are there? We ask the Canadian
food inspection agency. Incredibly, they tell us they
don't know how many puppies are coming in or
where they're going. But our hidden camera
team is doing better. We're going to go see a puppy. [David] We're meeting up
with Kijiji puppy sellers. Hi, awe, she's so cute! [David] We've selected only
sellers where mom dog is nowhere to be seen. A clue, we're told, to help
spot foreign-born puppies. [David] At another seller. [David] We're showing
the video to Dr Scott. Someone can make a good story,
right, where mom and dad are. The question that
you always ask. [David] This man is eager to
sell after just a short text conversation. [David] Scott says
reputable sellers should have way more questions. What colour is it as opposed to
"does your dog like other dogs?" "Why do you want another dog?" I'm not getting clear answers. I don't know about the
health status of the parents. I don't really know
how they came here. [David] This seller is
clear about one thing. [David] Oh, from Ukraine. Well, it cleared all the
Canadian rules and it got through customs without
realizing that there really aren't any. The dog was alive. That's pretty much the
bare minimum to get through. [David] Scott says the federal
government needs to tighten up the rules. We don't have testing
requirements for diseases. We don't have
quarantine practices. We need to know here's what the
risks are and here's how we can mitigate those risks. [David] Doctor
Scott is not alone. Canada's top vet
association has been warning for years that puppy mill
imports bring in diseases that may directly impact animal
and human health. But Adam's seller assures
him Titus was vaccinated. So, we ask his vet Dr Carolyn
Woodward to check out the puppy's records. It looked sketchy. I realized that his first
vaccine was given to him around five weeks of age
almost six weeks., Which is really young to
give a vaccine to a dog. It just didn't make any
sense and it didn't sound right. That's why Titus is heading to
the lab, getting a blood test to find out. What about all
those other puppies? The CFIA tells us that they
actually don't keep a central database for how many dogs are
being imported commercially into this country, does
that surprise you? That is surprising. And surprising
and disappointing. That we don't
regulate that more. [David] That's exactly what
Doctor Scott is fighting is for. If I can bring in 200 dogs from
somewhere and sell them for $5000,
that's a lot of money. So, if I build in a couple of
thousand for a fine and I build in 10, 20, 50 dead dogs if I can
still make a profit that doesn't necessarily dissuade me if
I'm an unethical importer. I don't understand how 500 dogs
coming in on a plane, it would not have raised red
flags with Canada. [David] Well, our
red flags are up. We just got a tip that this
flight landing in Toronto has dozens of Ukrainian puppies
on board. We're headed to
see who picks them up. And joining our stake
out is Abby Lorenzen. You going to walk me
through this process? I am. [David] Abby's a professional
dog handler and was watching when Canadian sellers came to
pick up 500+ puppies here just weeks earlier. You could hear them, like you
just hear the puppies whining. They walk in and they just hand
in their import permit to the cargo workers like no care in
the world like they're just picking up bulk mail. You can just smell death. [David] And so, she knows
what to watch out for now. Look, there's a dog
right there David! [David] Our intel says seven
people will collect up to 70 puppies. You'll see them on Kijiji and
some other third-party website. [David] But how quickly? Tonight. Tomorrow morning. Really? [David] Someone's
just gone into there. Yeah, the grey dress. [David] As the sun sets there
on the cargo ram are their dogs. It feels like 37
degrees right now. The dogs are locked up. Waiting until the
paperwork clears. The people picking them up,
they look agitated too, know they're being filmed. And then they'll be back over,
and they'll start getting the dogs. [David] And ask security to
throw our camera out. But as the puppies are picked up this isn't our only camera. -[David] Uh oh, I see crates.
-[Abby] You'll see, as... As they leave... [David] We're gonna get here on
the 401 in a second, I think. We follow. The Lexus and the pickup truck. They're staying
together right now. They're taking 427
northbound... [David] But they speed up. Way up.
-I gotta drop back. So, we step back. It's just too dangerous. But the trail isn't cold. Our hidden camera team just
made contact with a key player. [David] Her mom? Just weeks ago, a puppy
buyer says he was told a very different story. It became clear to me that
he had been shipped over, he had been
imported from the Ukraine. [David] This seller also told
Adam that puppy had all his shots. His vet found
that claim sketchy. What will the seller tell us? Well, our team looks closely at
the paperwork and catches a hole in the seller's story. [David] Another puppy
imported from eastern Europe. Remember this is legal. And the seller reassures us. [David] That's exactly
what she said to Adam. We're testing that
claim by testing Titus. Adam, test results
are in from the lab. -You want to take a look?
-I'd love to. So, what that says is that Titus
either was never vaccinated against rabies or was vaccinated
way too young for it to be effective. I just feel misled. This isn't what I was told at
all, and more importantly, it wasn't what the
documentation led me to believe. And to me, that is the more
concerning issue that that was allowed to happen. Do you think you
deserve answers from the seller? I feel like I deserve
answers from the system [David] The CFIA
runs that system. They say it's up to the buyer
to ask key questions to avoid supporting puppy mills. Back in July they paused the
import of puppies under 8 months of age from Ukraine, and say
there have been "no significant transport
incidents" since that ban. But top vet Scott Weese
says it's not enough. Dogs are low on the priority. [David] He's convinced puppy
exporters are already using other eastern European hubs to
transport puppies to Canada. It's a matter of how we make
sure animals are coming in in good conditions. How are we limiting sick
animals coming in? [David] And
remember Adam's seller? [David] We ask her about Titus's
inaccurate vaccine records. She says she's just a seller,
claims she doesn't import. And says she can't be
responsible for allegedly fake medical records. Adam now says he shouldn't
have bought a puppy off Kijiji. It was something that I knew I
should have taken more time on. [David] In spite of it all,
he's so happy with Titus. The companionship that dogs can
provide can be a true healing presence in somebody's life. I think he has really helped me
in that and been an important part of my life so far.
