Are you buying your puppy online?
The global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS conducted a survey of puppy sellers on Facebook and Instagram. This investigation took place from September 2023 to June 2024. It shows that Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta, are hotspots for ruthless puppy sellers within Europe.
The sellers slyly circumvent Meta's rules, national and European regulations.
Four Paws wants the trade to be properly monitored, controlled and regulated. Until then, they want the sale of often too young dogs on these platforms to be stopped. The organisation is launching a petition calling on Meta to start enforcing their own policies more strictly and improve their monitoring of puppy sales.
Behind the online ads with happy and cute dog pictures, however, there is a world of suffering. The puppies are often from bread breeds. A bread breeder is a breeder of companion animals, usually dogs or cats, who breeds with the primary aim of making money, subordinating animal welfare to economic interests. Mother dogs are also offered for sale.
This illegal trade and ruthless breeding practices by private individuals is a clear violation of Meta's own rules. A system where both the seller and the animal can be fully traced should be urgently sought.
(SR for Tagtik/Source: Hart voor dieren/Illustration picture: Unsplash)