A Turning Point for Ending the Illegal Trade

An EU law on dog and cat welfare marks a fundamental shift

In 2025, the European Union established the first Union-wide rules to regulate the welfare, traceability and trade of dogs and cats.

This legal framework marks a fundamental shift. It addresses long-standing gaps that have allowed the illegal puppy and kitten trade to thrive across borders and online.

It is a major step forward.

Why this matters: a system built on invisibility

For years, the illegal puppy trade has exploited weak rules, fragmented systems and a lack of traceability.

Across Europe:

Around six million puppies are needed every year
The market is worth an estimated 4.6 billion EUR annually
And nearly 79% of puppies cannot be traced to a known source

This lack of transparency allows illegal breeders and traders to operate across borders, sell animals online, and disappear without accountability.

This is the gap the EU law begins to close.

What the law changes

Traceability becomes the foundation

The EU now requires mandatory identification and registration of dogs and cats.

This is a turning point.

Traceability makes it possible to:

Link animals to breeders, sellers and owners
Track their movement across borders
Verify origin in online sales
Identify and stop illegal operators

Without universal traceability, illegal trade flourishes. With it, accountability becomes possible.

Minimum welfare standards across all breeding

For the first time, EU-wide minimum welfare standards apply to breeders.

These include basic but critical requirements:

Proper nutrition
Veterinary care
Protection from abuse
Suitable housing and socialisation

These rules apply to:

Small and large-scale breeders
Commercial operators across the EU
Exporters supplying animals into the EU market

This closes gaps between countries that have long been exploited by illegal traders.

Tackling harmful breeding practices

For the first time, EU law addresses the way dogs and cats are bred—introducing rules to prevent animals from being bred with traits that harm their health and welfare.

This includes both:

Harmful physical characteristics, such as extreme body shapes, are linked to suffering
Genetic conditions, where breeding leads to inherited diseases or long-term health problems

These provisions aim to end the practice of breeding animals for appearance or profit at the expense of their well-being.

However, the full impact of these measures will depend on further technical rules. Detailed standards defining harmful traits and genetic conditions are still being developed and are expected in the coming years.

Online sales are no longer anonymous

Online platforms have been one of the main drivers of the illegal trade.

The law introduces mandatory verification for online ads, ensuring that animals can only be sold if their registration and ownership are confirmed.

This approach is based on FOUR PAWS’ VeriPet system, linking advertisements directly to official databases.

It is a critical step to remove anonymity and accountability from the online trade.

Stricter rules on selling animals

The regulation also introduces tighter conditions for establishments selling dogs and cats.

While not an explicit ban, these requirements significantly restrict business models that rely on low transparency and poor welfare standards – and can make certain forms of sale, such as in pet shops, effectively unworkable.

When will the law take effect?

While the law is now in place, its impact will be delivered over time. Core rules begin applying from around 2028, with further measures introduced gradually. Some elements – such as technical standards – will continue to be defined over the coming years.

This phased approach means the coming years are critical. Strong implementation, enforcement and continued political attention will determine whether the regulation delivers real change for animals.

Demonstrating the scale of the illegal trade
Establishing traceability as the key solution
Developing practical tools like the VeriPet model
Pushing for EU-wide standards and enforcement

The result is a law that for the first time addresses the full chain of the trade – from breeding to online sales.

Different levels of implementation across Member States
Limited enforcement capacity
Gaps in database connectivity and verification systems
Online platforms failing to fully apply requirements

Illegal traders adapt quickly. If the system is not robust in practice, they will continue to exploit its weaknesses.

The path forward

The EU now has a legal framework that can transform the way dogs and cats are traded in Europe.

It creates the conditions for:

Full traceability
Greater accountability
Improved animal welfare
A significant reduction in illegal trade

But this transformation is not automatic.

It requires continued pressure, monitoring, and action to ensure that the system works as intended – for every animal.

Read the evidence

The findings behind this work are detailed in our report:

Billion Euro Industry

Why the EU must strengthen regulations to end the illegal puppy trade now

Read

Supporting documents to the report:

¹Please note: FOUR PAWS provides all results as received by the commissioned agency IRB. IRB reviewed individual ads but has not created test sales accounts or published test ads. The results do not reflect processes for ad publications or verifications performed by the ad site when they are not publicly displayed.

² FOUR PAWS is committed to updating the file with new information, which can be provided via office@four-paws.org.