Celebrities including Dame Joanna Lumley, Graham Norton, Ben Fogle, George Michael and Kirsty Gallacher are supporting Blue Cross by signing an open letter which calls for new laws to improve pet welfare.

The letter, published in The Times today (November 30), follows a report released by the charity revealing that the welfare of pets being bred and sold across the UK is at risk. Becky Thwaites, Head of Public Affairs for Blue Cross commented 'At Blue Cross we regularly see seriously ill pets and their devastated new owners - victims of unscrupulous breeders and sellers who prioritise profit over welfare... We hope that by highlighting the huge scale of the problem in our report we can encourage the government to make the vital changes needed to improve the welfare of pets bred and sold'.