First of all Happy New Year to all supporters of this petition! The last updates have been quite depressing so let’s start the new year by remembering some positive news.
On 1st October last year, a new regulation came into force whereby anyone breeding three or more litters in a 12 month period has to have a license. Prior to that you could breed up to 5 litters without a licence. Anyone advertising as a business also needs to include their licence number on each advert. This only seems to apply to dogs but it has put off some private sellers. More info here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/animal-welfare-boosted-by-new-law-coming-into-force
On 23 December it was announced that Lucy’s law will go ahead. This means that later this year (date to be confirmed) puppies and kittens will no longer be sold in pet shops or by third party sellers. This will crack down on puppy farmers who rely on resellers. Many of those use classified platforms. This unfortunately only applies to dogs and cats. Rabbits and other small animals will still be exploited in breeding facilities to be sold in pet shops or online so we have to fight for them too.
Lastly, the TIMES published an article today about new technology aimed at tracking down puppy farmers who advertise on classified ad websites. This has already led to two raids in Northern Ireland where animals were rescued.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/anti-terror-tech-leashes-puppy-farmers-cj5zlct7c?fbclid
It is of course not enough but it shows things are moving a bit and one thing can lead to another.
Some of you have commented that the buyers are responsible for treating the pets as commodities and it’s not the advertisers’ fault. I think the advertising is largely to blame. Take the advertising of tobacco for example (which was banned decades ago!), although smokers are ultimately responsible for the damage to their health, the tobacco companies were targeted for the irresponsible advertising. The difference with tobacco is that the damage is self-inflicted. In the case of pets, there are innocent victims which is why the irresponsible advertising should be stopped at the source. The classified ad websites need to do their bit and over 102,000 people agree! That is VERY positive!
The Sun recently covered the issue of pets discarded after Christmas:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8067287/anger-christmas-dogs-sold-social-media-prices-presents/
It shouldn't be so easy to obtain a pet in the first place.
Let’s keep the momentum going. Things need to change and BEFORE next Christmas!!
Thank you for caring.
Isabelle Rineau
BaBBA Campaign (Ban all Baby Bunny Ads)
@babbacampaign