What’s legal Hungarian dog breeders’ take on illegal dog breeding? The other side of the story

All dogs, these soulful creatures of the world, should have the chance to have a happy, fulfilling life, just like humans. They can thrive as a loved and adored family member. But for the time being, even if they just received basic care, got registered and controlled, that would be a huge step forward. 

Our common objective is to stop the illegal dog trade, but it can only happen if  the traders, breeders, buyers and animal shelters all take responsibility.

German-speaking countries came up with a potentially promising initiative to stop the illegal puppy trade, however, it does have some shortcomings:

• German-speaking countries introduced a so-called traces system. This is a regulation system of animal transport within the EU. This system is still rather complicated for foreign breeders and foreign local governments though. Unfortunately, the practice of German vet departments is arbitrary. On top of it, this new system doesn’t ward off illegal trade because people still manage to find loopholes in the system.
• Foreign breeders are not allowed to advertise in German-speaking countries. There is no distinction between legal breeders or others. So they have no chance to find lovable homes for their dogs. Only the German marketplace, Deine Tierwelt, is professional enough and allows foreign breeders to advertise following a thorough ID and document check.
• There is a widespread misconception among dog trainers, vets, and departments that all dogs from foreign countries are illegally bred with fake documents.

As a consequence, foreign breeders struggle to find buyers/homes for their dogs. In this challenging economic climate, they have a hard time making sales, which further threatens their businesses. And what a breeder is supposed to do with a kennel of newly born puppies? It’s a big murderous disaster….

Furthermore, the demand for pure breed dogs in German-speaking countries should not be served by illegal traders, regardless of whether domestic or foreign, nor by ‘backyard breeders’. It poses serious risk to professional legal breeders and will lead to catastrophic consequences.

People must be aware of the severity of this issue. Streets must be cleaned, as German-speaking countries are riddled by a large population of stray dogs. Neutering programmes should be launched regularly to cut down the number of stray dogs.
The system protecting legal pure breeders must be strengthened. There should be an internationally approved category system that indicate for the consumers the reliability of the breeders. The f.ex. FCI Breeders organisation should be taken as an example.

The practical possibilities are available. The financing could be secured by taxpayers’ money. The grim fact is that 90% of the dog trade is black, which is worse than the illegal drug business.

Source: article by Betti