Closed petition Ban unregulated animal sales/trading

Closed on 30 March 2015

Since 2008, pet owners have increasingly turned to online vendors and classifieds to surrender unwanted pets. These unregulated websites have become a haven for criminal activities such as puppy mills and dogfighting.

With no regulation in place and websites that offer security against these issues as an unenforceable formality, these activities have lead to the RSPCA to announce a dramatic surge in dog fighting as these animals are most often procured ‘legally’ through these online sites. This practice can be limited by banning outright the unregulated trade/sale/gifting of animals through these channels, when these companies fail to provide sufficient proof that their safeguards are robust and effective.

We, the undersigned, call on the Government to ban the unregulated sale and trading of domestic animals through all means, but with particular focus on online classifieds in addition to launching robust marketing campaigns underscoring the realities behind such transactions.