Action Plan to Tackle Illegal Pet Trade Discussed at European Parliament

Posted: 6/4/2017

Yesterday 6 April, the EU Dog & Cat Alliance gave a presentation on ...

Estonian Presidency Must Seize Chance to Tackle Illegal Trade in Companion Animals

Posted: 22/3/2017

The EU Dog & Cat Alliance welcomes the letter from 8 Estonian MPs and 1 MEP to the Estonian Government, calling upon it to propose an EU Action Plan to tackle the illegal trade in companion animals, as well as introduce compulsory identification and registration of pets in Europe, as a topic when they take on the Presidency of the Council of the EU in July.

Estonia has the opportunity to be a leader in Europe by placing this highly lucrative illegal trade on the agenda of the EU and calling for a coordinated European approach to address it. Unscrupulous offenders are exploiting the EU Pet Travel scheme, discrepancies in pet legislation, welfare standards and prices among Member States with very scant repercussions, including through online sales, and to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of animals each year.

The welfare of cats and dogs is a very prominent topic for many of the EU’s citizens; 18% of households own a dog and 26% own ...