An animal rescue service has said the price of puppies has "gone through the roof" since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The DSPCA says working from home has resulted in an increase in the number of people buying puppies, therefore pushing up the prices.
CEO Brian Gillen said it's not unusual to hear of people paying €2,000 or €3,000 for a puppy.
He said "the number of dogs that are being registered in Ireland has gone up. We see the numbers in the Irish Kennel Club have gone down so that's telling us many dogs are being bred in conditions that aren't so good".
The DSPCA said it is estimated that around 70,000 puppies are born in Ireland every year and between 30,000 - 40,000 of these are on puppy farms, both legal and illegal.
It says the illegal ones are a cause of concern.
An Garda Síochána seized 32 puppies and four horses in the Baldoyle area of north Dublin last night as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal puppy farms and related criminal activity.
Amongthem were Jack Russells, Pugs and six pregnant Chihuahuas. Gardaí estimate their potential value to be around €150,000.
In a separate seizure last week the DSPCA rescued a litter of eight puppies estimated to be worth a total of €15,000.
Gillian Bird, head of education and media with the DSPCA, said she is not surprised at the price people are paying for puppies but she said "just because you're paying high prices doesn't mean you're getting a good quality healthy animal"
She said poor breeding will result in steep vet bills and badly behaved dog.
She advised people not to rush into getting a puppy and urged adopting from a rescue centre instead of buying.
