Following a tip from the animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS, the Bavarian police were able to prevent an illegal puppy trade on Tuesday evening. The officers confiscated two beagle puppies from Romania that were to be sold via an online platform Internet. FOUR PAWS calls on the federal government to finally take effective measures to make the online trade in animals safer.

"We informed the police that two beagle puppies are offered on eBay classifieds, which most likely originate from the illegal puppy trade," says Birgitt Thiesmann, FOUR PAWS' expert on the illegal puppy trade, who was present at the seizure in Schierling. During the subsequent inspection, the officers determined that the two puppies came from Romania, were just eight weeks old and without rabies vaccination. "This is illegal because the dogs were separated from their mother far too early and have no rabies vaccination. This is of course tragic for the animals, but they also pose a risk to their environment. The only few weeks old puppies have a weak immune system and often suffer from parasites and diseases, such as distemper or parvovirus, with which they can infect other dogs.”Animal welfare and police work hand in handThe two Beagle puppies are in quarantine after confiscation at the animal shelter in Regensburg and are cared for there. "We are pleased about the spontaneous readiness of the police. The dog-experienced police superintendent Andreas Baier knows a lot about the illegal puppy trade and has acted accordingly. Due to the excellent support of the animal protection organization Cats & Dogs in Not, we knew where to find the puppy trader", Thiesmann said.

More than 50,000 dogs traded every month according to a study by the European Commission, around 50,000 dogs are traded between European countries every month. However, the transport is only legal for dogs from the age of 15 weeks. "A dog imported into Germany from abroad must be vaccinated against rabies. Since the vaccination protection only takes effect after three weeks, but a puppy can develop effective protection from the age of 12 weeks at the earliest, the minimum import age of 15 weeks applies. The confiscated beagles were not even 10 weeks old," Thiesmann said."As long as there are no laws that make the sale traceable and close the market to criminal traders, the illegal puppy trade will continue to flourish. The Federal Government must finally make the trade in animals safe.

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