The illegal puppy trade is rife with animal cruelty and deception. Every year, countless puppies are bred in deplorable conditions, taken from their mothers too early and transported across Europe to be sold online.

The annual demand for puppies within the European Union is high. Almost 6 million are needed with an estimated market worth of 4,600,000,000 Euros. FOUR PAWS research has found that 79% of the puppies needed to fill the annual demand to come from unknown sources. The lack of traceability of the animals allows unscrupulous dealers to illegally transport puppies across borders and advertise them on classified ad sites or Social Media. The risk for prosecution for these dealers is low, and their business thrives on unwitting consumers who fall for their tricks.

FOUR PAWS has produced a substantial new report: Billion Euro Industry – why the EU must strengthen regulations to end the illegal puppy trade now. This comprehensive overview of the EU puppy trade examines the scale of the problem across the union, solutions, and the value of the trade following an in depth-analysis of the trends on the market leading classified ad sites for dog advertisements in 21 EU Member States.

In order to really make a change, it is essential that the Members of the European Parliament strengthen the draft proposal for a new EU-wide regulation now, to ensure each dog and cat becomes traceable, and only allow traceable animals in the market, including online. To ensure this:

1. All dogs and cats need to be identified and registered.
2. In the online trade, before any advertisement is published, it must be verified that each dog or cat is registered onto the individual offering them.

1. Value of the online trade – full presentation overview^1,2
2. FOUR PAWS questions to Ministries and pet registries and their answers²
3. Calculations to showcase puppies from unknown sources²
4. Experts’ Position Paper on Microchipping of Dogs and Cats²
5. Identification and Registration Overview EU²
6. Breeder Registration Overview EU²
7. Dog Sales Regulations Overview EU²
8. Dog Imports and Exports per EU Member State²
9. Interview with Dogs.ie's CEO Paul Savage on VeriPet

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

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

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