The Dutch province of Brabant is the centre of the international trade in abused puppies from eastern Europe, local broadcaster Omroep Brabant says.

The broadcaster bases its claim on dozens of conversations with local vets who see the suffering of the puppies every day in their surgeries.

The animals are bred on large farms in eastern Europe in wretched conditions and then shipped in lorries to the Netherlands. Many of the puppies die on the journey from stress and neglect, the broadcaster says.

The puppies are sold on from Brabant by shady dealers and on internet and dog passports and vaccination papers are falsified, according to Omroep Brabant.