Vienna, 27 February 2025 – A new FOUR PAWS investigation with undercover footage reveals a cruel trade happening on Facebook. Although the sale of animals by private individuals is not allowed by Meta’s community guidelines, private groups across Europe are filled with vulnerable puppies on offer. For the latest investigation by the global animal welfare organisation, undercover investigators met with illicit traders in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, who revealed their tricks for circumventing Meta’s community guidelines with ease. During the investigation, which took place in summer 2024 with 14 meetings as well as online, illicit traders were offering sick puppies without breeder licenses, with questionable vaccination records, ignoring rabies requirements for exports and exchanging dogs in public spaces, violating national and EU regulations. FOUR PAWS urges Meta to close the loopholes that allow cruel traders to advertise dogs on its social media platforms.

Many animals and owners fall victim to this cruel practice

This cruel practice puts both animals and humans under considerable health risks and often leaves owners with expensive veterinary bills and sorrow. The investigation found that many of the puppies on offer were sick or reared in unhygienic, chaotic conditions. Dogs were kept in large numbers in living rooms and bedrooms, floors were soiled with dog waste, the places reeking of ammonia. Some puppies at the inspected places suffered from kennel cough, had weepy eyes, had hernia or other health issues.

A cruel trade – The system behind puppy traders exploiting Facebook

Although Meta partly deletes puppy ads mentioning prices and other obvious sales terms, illicit traders found means to escape detection by giving little to no descriptive information about the dogs in their posts and using emojis and hashtags instead, and handling deals with potential buyers through private chats. For example, a heart next to a photo indicated, that the puppy was still available, the colour of the heart (blue or pink) indicating its sex. Information about the seller’s legitimacy was either unclear or completely missing in the posts. This covert approach keeps the trade hidden from Meta’s monitoring.

“Many of the cruel puppy traders told our investigators how to get around Facebook’s rules. There was an accepted code to advertise puppies without getting suspended. Use emojis, avoid certain words, negotiate your sale in private messages. Everybody knew the code – if you look on Facebook yourself, you’ll soon pick up the patterns. In this way, private sales are made every day, across Europe – with apparently minimal action by Meta. Meta needs to do a better job of enforcing its own rules and policies, or the cruel puppy trade will continue to grow on Facebook and Instagram, making victims of humans and animals alike,” adds Weston.

Working against Facebook’s community guidelines – illicit sellers share their methods

During the FOUR PAWS investigation, it became evident that Facebook is an attractive medium for private sellers, offering their dogs illegally. Group instructions explained to their members how to communicate and avoid being detected by the platforms.  Identified offers even included the delivery of dogs from abroad. Offers for the Netherlands included underage American Bulldog puppies with cropped ears, a practice that is illegal in the country, imported from countries like Slovakia and Hungary. Generally, dogs were advertised for high prices across the three countries, with 400-2,000 Euros in the Netherlands and Belgium, and 1,000- 10,000 Pounds in the UK.

A Belgian seller with 14 adult dogs on their property, even confessed to stopping having a Belgian registration number that is mandatory for commercial breeders due to "too many checks, way too much fuss with the taxes and all sorts of thing." Another seller from Belgium, who was also the administrator for several Facebook groups admitted that their network disabled comments to avoid being detected: "If puppies are posted, we remove the comment. Why? Because the friend then asks for the price, which is not allowed by Facebook as it implies selling the puppy. So, it all has to be done privately.”

About: FOUR PAWS investigation of the puppy trade in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK

In summer 2024, FOUR PAWS investigated cases of puppy trade on Facebook in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, which included online research and 14 meetings with sellers. The investigation builds on the findings of hundreds of private profiles advertising dogs on Facebook and Instagram, on profiles and in groups targeting multiple European countries. It is part of FOUR PAWS’ “Protect Puppies on Social Media” campaign with a petition asking Meta to close the loopholes that allow unregulated and cruel traders to advertise dogs for sale on their social media channels Facebook and Instagram.