With the extreme uptick in pet sales throughout lockdown an already irresponsible and dangerous trend in backyard and hobby breeding is now out of control. Pets are being stolen and resold under the radar using these sites. Third party sales are ILLEGAL yet this goes unchecked. They are being stolen and used for breeding in abhorrent conditions with sick puppies being sold for extortionate amounts of money causing untold heartache and ridiculous increases in pet insurance as a by product. Not to mention the suffering of these animals. 

A quick search on Gumtree will bring up thousands of adverts for dogs and puppies that have no regulation, no one is watching. The RSPCA recently put the young bulldog in the picture to sleep after having been dumped, still with a fresh C-Section scar having been bred from in appalling living conditions with no veterinary care, completely neglected. Removing the platforms these “greeders” use to sell the product of their morally, ethically and legally wrong activities would be a huge step in the right direction to put a STOP to this. 

Breeding should only be done by reputable, regulated and council authorised breeders who care for their animals properly. Sales of puppies should be reserved for registered breeders via respectable means such as breeder directories available in the Kennel Club website and breed specific council websites.