OVERVIEW OF THE ONLINE PUPPY TRADE. Sarah Ross Companion Animals Lead Expert FOUR PAWS International

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1 OVERVIEW OF THE ONLINE PUPPY TRADE Sarah Ross Companion Animals Lead Expert FOUR PAWS International

2 QUESTION ONE How many puppies are needed annually to fulfil the demand in Europe? A 2 Million B 5 Million C 8 Million?

3 THE DEMAND AT A GLANCE 1 Labrador Retriever 2 Siberian Husky 3 Put Bull Australian Shepard French Bulldog Pug Border Collie 4 German Shepard 5 Pug Golden Retriever Rottweiler Cane Corso 6 Bulldog 7 Chihuahua Pomeranian Shiba Inu Other 8 Golden Retriever 9 Pembroke Welsh Corgi 10 Boxer

4 THE DIRE WOLF DEMAND Contributing to a 700% increase in abandonment

5 THE DIRE WOLF DEMAND Contributing to a 700% increase in abandonment

6 ABANDONMENT IS OFTEN THE RESULT "We understand that due to the direwolves' huge popularity, many folks are going out and buying huskies please, please, if you're going to bring a dog into your family, make sure that you're prepared for such a tremendous responsibility and remember to always, always, adopt from a shelter. -Peter Dinklage not only does this hurt all the deserving homeless dogs waiting for a chance at a good home in shelters, but shelters are also reporting that many of these huskies are being abandoned as often happens when dogs are bought on impulse, without understanding their needs

7 QUESTION TWO How much time do people generally spend researching where to buy a dog? A Less than 20 minutes B About 2 hours C About 4 hours?

8 HOW ARE DOGS SEEN IN OUR CURRENT SOCIETY? The Cute-Factor Puppies can be bought at the click of a button Just like any other product Impulse purchasing Puppy dealers benefit from this Want it now culture

9 SO WHO IS SUPPLYING THE DEMAND? Limited seller identification Limited checks or tracking Seller is anonymous and can disappear at any time

10 A SNAPSHOT OF PETS ADS ON ONLINE CLASSIFIED PLATFORMS Dogs Cats Totals Austria 3,238 1,538 Germany 54, ,786 Dogs 213,121 UK 21,003 73,214 Netherlands Belgium 1, ,706 8,518 Cats 92,405 Switzerland 4,296 6,659

11 QUESTION THREE What is the market value of the EU online dog trade? A 10 million Euros B 100 million Euros C More than 1 billion Euros?

12 RESEARCH ON EBAY CLASSIFIED WEBSITES 1,479,141,768 Estimated market value 2,370,419 Dogs sold annually

13 THE ISSUE DEMAND REPUTABLE BREEDERS/SELLERS CAN T SUPPLY DEMAND CORRUPT BREEDERS/SELLERS WELFARE/HEALTH RISKS SHELTER ANIMALS

14 QUESTION FOUR How There many is a spectrum zoonotic diseases of infectious come from dogs? diseases of dogs and cats that are shared by humans. A 11 B 32 C 50?!

15 HEALTH & WELFARE RISKS Many of the diseases can be prevented sadly, this is not the general rule for puppies that are being sold in the illegal puppy trade

16 WORKING TOWARDS A SAFER ONLINE PUPPY TRADE Joanna Randall Head of Companion Animal Campaigns FOUR PAWS International

17 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

18 THE PUPPIES ARE WELL SOCIALISED De pups zijn goed gesocialiseerd.

19 WHAT ARE THE ISSUES WITH THE ONLINE PET TRADE? Anonymity makes the marketplace attractive for illegal sellers Illegal importing and fraudulent paperwork Unvaccinated animals for sale Disappearing sellers Several sellers sentenced to prison Around every 3 rd supplier violated usage policies Controls on ebay Classifieds ads are inadequate

20 FOUR PAWS MEASURES FOR ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS EXAMPLE MEASURES Seller Identity Verification Fraudulent sellers will avoid the site as authorities can prosecute them One seller account per person It should not be possible to hide a business behind several private accounts Mandatory information required This would be required in a set format to be provided (e.g. age, gender, and keeping requirements). Buyers viewing the ad are given detailed information to make an informed decision regarding purchasing the animal

21 THE INDUSTRY SOLUTION

22 WHISTLEBLOWERS I reckon that 90 percent of ebay Kleinanzeigen ads are really illegal dog dealers of course, my favourite platform on the internet was ebay Kleinanzeigen, because there are no limits at all. I can advertise everything no matter if it is a healthy animal or a sick animal. It is never questioned. -Former puppy dealer turned whistle-blower

23 INDUSTRY MOVES SO FAR Animal sales paywall

24 LEGISLATIVE MOVES SO FAR TRACEABILITY PROTECTS HUMAN HEALTH PROTECTS ANIMAL WELFARE PROTECTS PET BUYERS PREVENTS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

25 AUSTRIAN CASE STUDY Martina Pluda Head of Programmes Austria VIER PFOTEN Österreich

26 CASE STUDY THE SITUATION Slovakian platform with.at domain Entirely serving the Austrian market 8ª AWA; BGBl. I Nr. 148/2017 gave Four Paws an instrument to finally tackle the issue Puppy ads displaying the typical patterns Self-regulation not taken seriously by management No progress could be made for years

27 CASE STUDY ACTIONS TAKEN Face-to-face with platform s management Monitoring of ads and illegal activities Contacting sellers Mock purchase Platform is notified and shuts down pet category Police intervention and confiscation of puppies Report filed against platform and 50 sellers

28 WHAT IS NEEDED Self-regulation Legislation and enforcement

29 THANKS Sarah Ross Companion Animals Lead Expert Joanna Randall Head of Companion Animal Campaigns Martina Pluda Head of Programmes Austria