Illegal pet trade in the EU, report released In Europe the large majority of dog from illegal sources are sold online. These dogs often do not comply with the health requirements established in the EU Regulation, are too young to have been vaccinated, and are accompanied by fraudulent passports which provide false information on their origin. The illegal Europe-wide trade in dogs threatens not just the welfare of the animals involved, but also animal health, public health and consumers. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the current situation to ensure this trade can happen in a sustainable, humane way.
On 21 April 2020, the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Eurogroup for Animals (https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/who-we-are) held an expert workshop on the illegal pet trade. Around 100 participants from European institutions, Member States, academia and the animal welfare sector debated the issue focusing on four areas: Pets and Traceability; Pets and Consumers; Pets and Online Platforms; and Organised Crime and Tax Evasion. FECAVA, IPFD’s collaborating member, also joined and will keep addressing the topic.
According to the news item from Eurogroup for Animals: Commissioner Kyriakides welcomes new ‘Illegal Pet Trade: Game Over Report’ ; the top recommendations for the European Commission include:
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to issue a delegated act on mandatory identification and registration of dogs and cats under the Animal Health Law;
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to educate consumers on risks related to pet trade fraud e.g. via Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency;
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the digital Services Act to set up clear rules on the responsibilities of online platforms to fight and remove illegal goods and content, including illegal pet ads. It should increase their responsibility to verify pet sellers via backend checks;
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to fund the enforcement projects under the European Regional Development Fund and Internal Security Fund.
The full report “Illegal Pet Trade: Game Over” was published and it is available here:.
Click here -- Report_Illegal Pet Trade_ Game Over_2020.pdf
Contents
5 Preface
7 Acknowledgements
9 Introduction
10 The pet trade as we know it
12 Chapter 1
Pets and Traceability
18 Chapter 2
Pets and Consumers
22 Chapter 3
Pets and online platforms
28 Chapter 4
Organised crime and tax evasion
32 Summary and next steps
33 References
News item from Eurogroup for Animals:
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