Hamburg, November 29, 2022 – The online platform Ebay classifieds wants to make buying pets online safer: in the future, according to new rules to protect against dubious offers, searches in the pets category will be banned. According to Ebay classifieds, an official permit (paragraph 11 permit; Section 11 of the Animal Welfare Act) will be required in the future for the mediation of dogs and cats under the age of twelve months.
Birgitt Thiesmann, expert on the illegal puppy trade at , comments:
“The new push by Ebay classifieds on the way to more animal welfare is at most just a drop in the ocean. has been demanding effective identity verification for years. Without this, the submission of a so-called Paragraph 11 permit (Section 11 of the Animal Welfare Act) is also invalid. Appropriate approval is always issued in relation to persons and locations. However, there is no guarantee that the provider of the animal is also the owner of the permit.
By banning requests in the pets category, Ebay classifieds is once again shifting the responsibility onto consumers instead of putting a stop to the illegal puppy trade with all the necessary consistency.
Ebay classifieds, for example, already prohibits the sale of puppies without the presence of the mother animal according to the terms and conditions. In our daily practice, however, we see again and again that this ban is ignored by illegal traders. Conspicuous advertisements are often deleted very slowly or not at all even after a corresponding notification to the platform. Only a complete identity check of all online providers can exclude criminals or enable consistent criminal prosecution.
Already last year, Ebay classifieds introduced an SMS verification obligation, which should ensure more protection against criminals. Nonetheless, has been able to locate numerous advertisements from illegal puppy traders. We also regularly receive reports from those affected who have bought a terminally ill puppy via eBay classifieds – in most cases the perpetrator cannot be identified. In order to prevent massive animal suffering and to protect consumers, the federal government must finally introduce corresponding laws for mandatory identification and registration of dogs as well as an identity check for all providers of living beings on all online platforms.
Find information on the illegal puppy trade here.