MEPs: End the illegal puppy trade, ensure strong Regulation!

For almost two decades, FOUR PAWS and other organizations have worked tirelessly to stop the illegal puppy trade.

Now, the European Parliament can strengthen the proposed EU-wide law to end this cruel business, which exploits both animals and consumers.

The EU Regulation has gone through several stages, but the existing texts do not include the measures necessary that would effectively block illegal puppy and kitten sellers from the market, ensure traceability of all dogs and cats to those responsible for them, and to equip authorities with better means for enforcement.

Now, only Members of the EU Parliament can make a difference, by voting for the needed amendments. For the sake of all dogs and cats that are victims of the illegal trade, that are abandoned or abused:

Call on your Members of the European Parliament to strengthen the proposal and do what is right.

This is the final chance! You can truly help ensure better welfare and traceability of dogs and cats in the EU.

Send them your email now!

• To our honourable Members of the European Parliament

  To ensure protection and traceability of dogs and cats, the EU needs strong, enforceable rules—no more loopholes, no more illegal trade, no more cruelty and abandonment!

  The AGRI text unfortunately falls short in providing for this.

  Two simple, concrete measures are needed to end the illegal pet trade and protect consumers. Please ensure they are included in the Parliament’s text:

  1. Mandatory Identification (“microchipping”) and Registration (I&R) of ALL dogs and cats. I&R connects animals to those responsible for them. With mandatory I&R, there is an accountable person behind every animal, including those which are illegally traded, abandoned or abused. No breeder or keeper should be exempt from this basic, low-cost duty. GDRP-compliant animal databases for microchip storage exist in all Member States. 
  2. Verification of a dog’s or cat’s registration to the advertiser is required before any dog or cat can be advertised online. Only if a listed animal is provenly connected to the advertiser, and thus traceable, can it be safely offered to consumers. The internet is the way for illegal pet dealers to contact buyers, therefore a strong regulation is needed. Technical tools that verify pet registrations to the advertiser are already available and in use.

   

  Why are these two measures crucial to stop the illegal trade and ensure welfare?

  The illegal pet trade is a booming, low risk and high-profit business - built on the suffering of sick, poorly-bred animals from unknown sources, which are sold to unsuspecting consumers.

  The size of the business is huge, and so is the potential loss of taxes: With an annual demand of 5.99 million dogs in the EU, the trades' worth is estimated to at least 4.6 billion Euros – but only 21% of the dogs come from a traceable source. Responsible breeders cannot meet demand, and illegal ones fill the gap.

  Puppy prices vary wildly—from €299 in Romania to €1,600 in Austria—fueling cross-border smuggling. Enforcement is weak to impossible, penalties rare, and abuse of EU animal movement rules is widespread. The 2022-23 EU coordinated action on illegal trade in dogs and cats confirmed that "a significant number of traders abuse the EU legislation on non-commercial transport of animals to disguise their real commercial activities and seek advantages from limited controls and tax elusion”. A simple fix: EU-wide Identification and Registration for all dogs and cats, backed by the central database that the AGRI text foresees. This would close loopholes, allow enforcement authorities to check ownership of animals moved cross-border, including to assess ownership of animals subject to movements that allegedly do not have trade intentions. This would basically stop traffickers from doing what they do now: pose as ‘private owners’.

  Consumer awareness has provenly not solved the problem. But technical tools to ensure a safer online pet trade exist. In Ireland, dogs.ie implemented on a voluntary basis a system that verifies registration of animals to the advertiser before ads go live - proving that sellers and pets can be traceable.

  Identification and Registration, which creates the inseparable link between an animal and the person responsible for them, and which can be done from early age on, as experts confirm, makes registration controls of online ads possible.

  With these solutions in place, it is now in your hands, to ensure they become implemented within the new EU Regulation, to stop the illegal pet trade, better protect pets and consumers and promote the humane control of stray populations.

  EU citizens want this—74% demand stronger dog and cat protection. The European Parliament has called the Commission for action since 2012. Now it’s your turn to deliver on the proposed law.
  
  Vote for mandatory I&R and online ad verification in this EU Regulation.

  We count on you to do the right thing.

  Further information:

  • Information on the problem, research results, and solutions in FOUR PAWS’ latest Report and Supporting Documents..
  • Over 70 organizations have signed an open letter for I&R and verification of an animal's registration to the advertiser prior to ads going live. Leading industry organisations support I&R of all dogs and cats.
  • A short explanatory film is available here.
  • For further information please contact FOUR PAWS office in Brussels via email (office@four-paws.be)

   

  Thank you very much for your attention.
  Yours sincerely