Please note: The European Commission has proposed new rules on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats. Click here for more information, and how you can help ensure this regulation will make the online puppy trade safer.
The dog registration verification tool 'VeriPet' is one element of the Model Solution, and has already been successfully implemented. Watch this short video to learn how the system works.
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VeriPet is live on dogs.ie in Ireland, and ensures only registered dogs can be advertised by their keepers. Another pilot project was sucessfully conducted on anibis.ch in Switzerland. Watch this short video to learn how the system works. Read more about VeriPet, and find all requirements for an online trade regulation with pet registration data for classified ad sites, pet registries and governments below in the Model Solution Reports and the video. (Please note, VeriPet was formerly called PetSAFE.)
Note: Any advertisements that may appear during the viewing of this video are unrelated to FOUR PAWS. We assume no liability for this content.
Stakeholders across the EU have already aired their interest in participating in a pioneer project to implement the Model Solution, including Europetnet, pet registries and classified ad sites.
FOUR PAWS is in touch with and supported by several further stakeholders.
The European Commission proposed new rules on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats. If made law, these rules will establish, for the first time, uniform EU standards for the breeding, housing and handling of dogs and cats in breeding establishments and pet shops as well as shelters. The traceability of dogs and cats will also be reinforced through mandatory identification and registration in national databases to fight illegal trade and better control animal welfare conditions in the establishments. Additionally, a new report by the European Commission was published with the outcomes of the EU Enforcement Action on illegal trade of cats and dogs that took place in 2022-2023. The findings denounce the extent of the illegal trade in dogs and cats, as well as the current loopholes that allow it to happen. Please find a summary of FOUR PAWS feedback to the proposal here.
Two new reports are available: The results of a vet questionnaire in Bulgaria show serious gaps in compliance with the legal requirements regarding the breeding, raising and selling of dogs. For example, 60% of the 37 participating veterinarians report that daily new owners come with a puppy they've already bought that hasn't yet been issued a passport, microchipped or registered. The results of the questionnaire support FOUR PAWS‘ call for a registration verification in the online trade, to help enforce the Identification and Registration obligation. The same applies for the results of the new Puppy Scammer Report. Investigations were executed in the UK, the Netherlands, Romania and Bulgaria to test the legitimacy of offers for puppies advertised on classified ad sites, and to expose the various methods unscrupulous dealers employ to deceive buyers. Please find these reports and more interesting data on our new section „Facts and figures on the illegal puppy trade“ at the bottom of this page.
Following the merger of Scout24 Switzerland and TX Markets to form SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG in 2021, anibis.ch hasannounced a complete technical renewal and a concentration on the Swiss market in November 2023. In regards to dog advertisements, anibis.ch introduced a new check process. The automated check of a dog’s registration to the owner (VeriPet) was stopped. In addition, dog advertisements that do not comply with Swiss legal requirements, as well as advertisements for certain breeds, will no longer be published. Likewise, dogs from abroad for which there is no information about the owner can no longer be offered for sale on anibis.ch: Only advertisements for dogs that are already in Switzerland and registered on Amicus are permitted. FOUR PAWS regrets anibis.ch’s decision to stop the automated checks due to the new circumstances but is grateful for the successful execution of the VeriPet pilot project in Switzerland, which proved that the concept of verifying dog ownership works.
FOUR PAWS International, European reference registry Europetnet, Swiss dog database Amicus, and online classifieds portal anibis.ch launched the ‘VeriPet’ system in Switzerland. Sellers who place ads to sell dogs registered in Switzerland on anibis.ch must now have their ownership details verified through the national Swiss pet microchip database Amicus, before their ads go live. More information here.
Joanna Randall from FOUR PAWS presented the Model Solution and FOUR PAWS recommendations at the Select Committee on Puppy Farming in New South Wales, established to inquire into and report on puppy farming in this state. The terms of reference include the committee examining the provisions of the Companion Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms) Bill 2021.
Finbarr Heslin from Europetnet and Paul Savage from the classified ad site dogs.ie presented VeriPet’s two-factor authentication system in the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Ireland. They presented to the committee why this type of verification is important for both buyer and seller, and how it helps to make sure that the right information is present in an online advert.
In August, the Irish classified ad site Dogs.ie and the dog registration database FIDO started a pilot testing of PetSAFE, the technical system developed by Europetnet and FOUR PAWS to combat the illegal puppy trade online. The system enables the website to perform automated checks verifying that the people advertising a dog online are the registered keepers of the dog, and thereby preventing dogs being sold anonymously online. This first pilot will pave the way for further countries to perform such checks and make the online puppy trade safer.
The Animal Health Law entered into force in the European Union in April 2021 setting out rules for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases in animals kept by humans, such as pets. One of the clauses in this law requires all dog and cat sellers, breeders and transporters to register their establishments with the relevant national authority. This legal requirement should help enable greater transparency in the online trade in cats and dogs. Read about the Animal Health Law and FOUR PAWS’ Work.
The illegal trade in companion animals is recognized by the EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime (2021-2025) as a persisting matter with severe implications. (European Commission, 2021, Communication on the EU strategy to tackle organised crime)
The EU Platform on Animal Welfare has endorsed guidelines for consumers and online platforms. The guidelines include recommendations for the publication of both microchip number and breeder registration number on online platforms, and state that "Online platforms should as far as possible validate the information a seller provides to advertise online, especially in regard to the identity of the seller and the identity of the animal. Both can be checked through ID verification and back-end checks against the pet registration database, provided that the latter holds reliable data": Find more information under 'Voluntary initiative on the health and welfare of pets (dogs) in trade'
A report by international experts to the European Commission included a suggestion to validate a companion animal’s registration to a traceable seller in a pet registry in order to advertise the animal online. Calls for Europe-wide identification and registration of companion animals, and their international traceability were also included. Find out more here. The report is based on the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Eurogroup for Animals’ expert workshop, “The Illegal Pet Trade: Game Over” of 21 April 2020.
Milestone action by MEPs to end the illegal puppy trade!
The European Parliament has requested action from the European Commission to tackle the illegal trade in companion animals. With the implementation of mandatory registration for all dogs and cats, huge progress can be made towards protecting animals, the EU’s internal market, and consumer rights from the negative implications of the cruel trade. Read the FOUR PAWS press release here. Source: www.europarl.europa.eu
Ireland releases new ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE (SALE OR SUPPLY OF PET ANIMALS) REGULATIONS 2019: Persons selling five or more animals per year must register themselves and their premises with the government. All dog advertisements must display the dog’s microchip number, the dog’s origin, and if applicable, the seller’s registration number.
FOUR PAWS presents :''PetSAFE' - a system for EU online classified ad sites that checks whether puppies advertised for sale online are registered, at the Expert Conference: 'Time to Act - A Mandatory Identification and Registration (I&R) for dogs and cats in Germany and Developments in the EU', Berlin. Link to the presentations. Link to PetSAFE presentation video (from minute 31), and to all presentation videos made at the conference.
FOUR PAWS UK submitted written evidence to the UK parliament’s Puppy Smuggling Inquiry and made various suggestions to help control the online puppy trade
Europetnet’s Finbarr Heslin presented 'PetSAFE' at the event 'The Next Political Term: What's on the Horizon for Animals' in Brussels
Presentation of the Model Solution to the Europetnet General Assembly
Many countries across Europe already have mandatory Identification and Registration (I&R) of dogs which brings us even closer to achieving full implementation of our Model Solution across the EU.
Below shows a map of all the countries in the EU that already have mandatory I&R:
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