"Puppy Scammers Exposed: How Deceptive Dealers Profit from the Illegal Puppy Trade Across Europe"
In collaboration with:
We are pleased to announce the release of a comprehensive two-year inquiry into the illicit puppy trade on behalf of Four Paws.
Unveiling "Puppy Scammers Exposed: How Deceptive Dealers Profit from the Illegal Puppy Trade Across Europe"
Our investigative efforts spanned multiple European nations, including the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Romania, and Bulgaria, and were aimed at scrutinizing the legitimacy of online advertisements featuring puppies for sale. Our dedicated team meticulously analyzed a multitude of puppy listings and embarked on in-depth visits to suspicious dealers' establishments. The objective was to shed light on the multi-faceted dimensions of the illegal puppy trade, its alarming scope, and the unscrupulous tactics employed by sellers to dupe unsuspecting buyers.
Our Revelations
Our investigations unveiled a disconcerting reality: A substantial number of puppies advertised on classified websites in the UK and the Netherlands are, in fact, unlawfully imported from Eastern Europe. Our investigators engaged with puppy farms, rogue dealers, and complicit veterinarians who all profited from the sale of underage puppies, often accompanied by fraudulent documentation. Our inquiry also revealed a blatant disregard for laws and animal welfare standards across the countries we explored, with rogue puppy dealers employing various deceitful methods to coerce buyers into purchasing unlawfully imported puppies.
Large-scale puppy imports from multiple European nations into the UK, with nearly a third of scrutinized classified ads promoting illegally imported puppies.
Unscrupulous sellers adopted multiple online personas, utilized various identities, maintained numerous phone numbers, and falsified their locations to sell puppies with impunity.
Shockingly, close to 50% of puppy advertisements surveyed on the UK's Gumtree were confirmed to feature illegal imports.
In Romania, over 80% of the breeders we investigated admitted involvement in illicit activities.
The majority of the 18 breeders we visited in Romania collaborated with corrupt veterinarians to obtain passports for underage puppies, complete with fraudulent vaccination records, posing a significant health hazard.
The Challenges
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns further fueled the demand for puppies, escalating the rampant illegal puppy trade across Europe.
This latest report consolidates the results of a rigorous two-year investigation conducted in the UK, the Netherlands, Romania, and Bulgaria to verify the legitimacy of puppies advertised for sale on classified ad sites. These investigations provide irrefutable evidence of the industrial-scale importation of puppies and underscore the extensive prevalence of imported puppy sales on online classified advertising platforms in the UK and the Netherlands. Our findings reveal the ease with which cross-border dealers can peddle underage puppies online, exposing not only the lax or nonexistent verification of online sellers' identities but also the absence of verification of both puppies and sellers' registration. Our research for Four Paws has unearthed the vastness of this trade and the diverse deceptive tactics unscrupulous dealers employ to ensnare unwitting buyers into acquiring illegally imported puppies, demonstrating their readiness to go to great lengths to conceal their activities.
The Report Concludes with Vital Recommendations
This report concludes with essential recommendations to enhance awareness among puppy buyers and advocates for stricter controls on classified ad platforms, ultimately calling for more stringent legislative regulations. Together, let's put an end to this cruel trade and protect the well-being of these innocent pups! 🚫🐾💪 #PuppyTradeExposed #AnimalWelfare #InvestigativeReport
Read the report here.
Tracks Investigations has undertaken over 295 investigative film projects supporting over 40 conservation, environmental and animal protection NGOs since its inception in 2006. Learn more about how you can work with us here. To support our investigative work for animals, click here.