It is so weird that Poodles in themselves are so unfashionable, but you can cross them with any old breed and suddenly the puppies are so desirable.
I get the appeal, I honestly do. I see so many Poodle crosses when out walking, and the vast majority are attractive friendly dogs, in very appealing colours. I can see why people want them. Unfortunately, the vast majority are buying them from puppy farms and (pre regulation change) thought that buying from a licensed premises they were doing the right thing, where in reality the opposite was probably true.
I just cannot get on board with an industry that exploits animals to this extent, with very little restriction. At least with KC registered puppies there are limits on breeding bitches too young, too old and too often. It's not perfect, but it's a darn sight better than someone clearing £5k profit on a litter and thinking 'hell, why wouldn't I just do that every season?'.
Perhaps the new licensing laws are a good thing, although I've yet to be convinced. Somehow the unscrupulous always find their way round these laws - and, in fact, where there are costs involved in the act of gaining a licence, I suspect it will make some breed even more to 'get their money back'.
Meanwhile, the truly dedicated who would have driven thousands of miles for the right health-tested stud, instead of buying something off Gumtree and mating it to everything, will all just give up.