Apologies for the last minute request but this is an opportunity to be heard! A parliamentary debate is scheduled tomorrow 13 December to discuss Reggie's Law petition and campaign, further to the death of a sick puppy bought on a selling site last year. Typically, Reggie came from a puppy farm in Ireland and had been illegally imported with fake paperwork. Reggie's Law is pushing for online selling sites to be further regulated.

Whilst I applaud the campaign's hard work and achievement in securing a debate, I must admit I do not think their requirements are sufficient to protect animals and prevent more similar tragedies from happening again. 

I do not believe that selling sites such as Pets4Homes can ever be trusted to ensure animal welfare or to even enforce their own rules and this petition is a proof, let alone the number of puppy farmers that have found using those platforms. 

We are having a pet crisis in the UK right now and this crisis requires more drastic measures than just attempts at regulating the online trading of animals. My opinion is that those sites should be banned altogether. 

If you agree with me, please ask your MP to attend the debate tomorrow and support the following: 

- A complete ban on the sale of animals online, via pet selling sites, other classified sites or any social media EXCEPT:
- Licensed breeders, who should be accountable, run their own website, showing their full details and licence number, verifiable via the local councils' websites.
- Genuine rescue centres listing animals for adoption who should also be registered by their local councils.
- A ban on the import of pets unless rescued.
- Mandatory neutering and microchipping of all pets to prevent pet owners breeding and selling for profit.

Gumtree, Preloved and other classified sites should DELETE their pet section and ban the sale of live animals. Shpock made that ethical decision a year ago. Well done Shpock! Pets4Homes simply shouldn't exist. 

Contact your MP
Retweet your MP here

Would this dramatically reduce the number of pets in this country? Yes but that would be a good thing since most people are clearly unable to look after their pets properly. Animals shouldn't be commodities to buy, own and sell for profit. Their vulnerable lives shouldn't be traded online. They should be adopted and treated as family members. 

More information on Reggie's Law here:

Reggies Law Petition
Justice for Reggie

#banpetsellingsites

Isabelle Rineau
www.babba.org