The illegal trade in pets remains at a high level, as the current evaluation by the German Animal Welfare Federation for the year 2023 shows. At least 731 animals - most of them dogs - were involved in 221 detected cases. Looking back at the figures for the past ten years, the German Animal Welfare Federation also shows that the illegal pet trade has been a massive animal welfare problem for many years: the umbrella organization of animal shelters has documented over 1,400 cases with almost 21,000 smuggled animals during this time. In addition to the known cases, a high number of unreported cases can be assumed. The consequences of animal trafficking, particularly via the internet, are mainly borne by the animal shelters. In order to relieve them and reduce animal suffering, the German Animal Welfare Federation is calling for decisive improvements to the Animal Welfare Act.
"In purely mathematical terms, a case of illegal animal trafficking has been uncovered in Germany every third day over the past ten years. Dog and cat puppies, which are separated from their mothers far too early, are particularly affected. As the puppies usually grow up in conditions that are contrary to animal welfare and receive neither human care nor veterinary treatment, they are almost always ill and suffer massively from the stresses and strains of transport," says Dr. Romy Zeller, specialist for pets at the German Animal Welfare Federation.
MAINLY DOGS SMUGGLED
Last year alone, 629 of the 731 illegally transported animals were dogs, mainly pedigree dogs such as Maltese, Miniature Spitz and French Bulldogs. Unlike a few years ago, more individual animals were smuggled and disguised as private sales. The inspecting authorities also confiscated 56 cats and 46 animals of other species - alpacas, porcupines, various bird species, a Parma wallaby and a Red-thighed tamarin. As in the previous year, most of the cases came to light in Bavaria, Berlin and Saxony. The animals came primarily from Eastern European countries - most frequently, and for the eighth time in a row, from Romania.
ONGOING PERSONNEL AND FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR ANIMAL SHELTERS
Local animal shelters are responsible for the care and treatment of confiscated animals from illegal trade. This incurs high costs for the shelters, which in many cases are not covered by the authorities. The cost of accommodating and caring for an illegally trafficked cat or dog amounted to an average of 25 euros per day in 2023. As animal shelters are struggling in the face of general cost increases and increased animal handovers, the avoidable additional burden caused by the illegal puppy trade must finally be stopped, according to the German Animal Welfare Federation.
The federation is therefore calling for cross-border measures to effectively curb the puppy trade: "There needs to be a ban, or at least legal regulation of the online trade in animals. It is not enough for sellers to simply provide their name and address to prove their identity, as provided for in the draft of the new Animal Welfare Act," says Zeller. "In addition, an obligation to identify and register dogs and cats would be essential, but is not yet directly provided for in the draft law. There is an urgent need for improvement here." Increased controls and tougher penalties for traders are also needed, according to the animal welfare federation
Note to editors:
Here you can find the entire evaluation "Illegal pet trade and its effects on German animal shelters - a review of the past ten years and an evaluation of known cases from 2023".
