Related Papers
International Journal of Rural Law and Policy
Rural-urban dynamics in the UK illegal puppy trade: Trafficking and trade in 'man's best friend
Tanya Wyatt
Recently, much attention has been given to the presence and increase of transnational crime, particularly focusing on online illicit markets. A seldom-explored aspect of transnational online illicit markets is the rural to urban flow of the illicit goods. This paper details research on the UK puppy trade, documenting the movement of puppies reared in irresponsible and/or illegal conditions in rural locations and then advertised online for the urban market. Through analysis of online advertisem*nts in Scotland and expert interviews, a stakeholder survey, and focus groups across Great Britain, we document the rural-urban dynamic of an overlooked transnational illicit market, a market facilitated by neo-liberalism and speciesism. While estimates on the value of the trade are problematic, the snapshot of online sales in Scotland alone suggests a marketplace with an annual value of at least £13 million (17,680 puppies). The cost of animal suffering associated with this trade is incalcula...
Trends in Organized Crime
European illegal puppy trade and organised crime
2021 •
Tanya Wyatt
Organised crime groups’ involvement in illicit markets is a common focus of law enforcement and governments. Drug, weapon, human and wildlife trafficking (and others) are all illegal activities with link to organised crime. This paper explores the overlooked illicit market of puppies. We detail the state of knowledge about the organisation of the UK puppy trade, which includes irresponsible and illegal breeding of puppies throughout Europe and their often-illegal movement into the UK. In 2017, we conducted an analysis of hundreds of online advertisem*nts in Scotland, 12 expert interviews, a stakeholder survey of 53 participants, and 40 focus groups across Great Britain. Our data suggest an organised illicit market running in parallel to the legal trade. We speculate as to whether at some point along the supply chain organised crime groups are responsible for the suffering and death of the puppies and the economic and emotional damage to ‘consumers’. Online monitoring and physical sc...
PLOS ONE
Online classified adverts reflect the broader United Kingdom trade in turtles and tortoises rather than drive it
2023 •
Kirsten Marie McMillan
BMC Veterinary Research
Estimation of the number and demographics of companion dogs in the UK
2011 •
Martin Whiting
Animals
The Status of Pet Rabbit Breeding and Online Sales in the UK: A Glimpse into an Otherwise Elusive Industry
2018 •
Naomi Harvey
Conditions of pet rabbit breeding colonies and breeder practices are undocumented and very little is known about the pet rabbit sales market. Here, multiple methods were employed to investigate this sector of the UK pet industry. A freedom of information request sent to 10% of councils revealed confusion and inconsistency in licensing conditions. Data from 1-month of online sale adverts (3446) identified 646 self-declared breeders, of which 1.08% were licensed. Further, despite veterinary advice to vaccinate rabbits from five weeks, only 16.7% rabbits were vaccinated and 9.2% of adult rabbits were neutered. Thirty-three breeders completed a questionnaire of which 51.5% provided smaller housing than recommended, the majority housed rabbits singly and bucks were identified as most at risk of compromised welfare. However, most breeders provided enrichment and gave a diet compliant with recommended guidelines. Mini-lops and Netherland dwarfs were the most commonly sold breeds, both of w...
Journal of applied animal welfare science : JAAWS
Rabbit relinquishment through online classified advertisem*nts in the United Kingdom: when, why, and how many?
2018 •
Richard Saunders
To identify implicit causes of companion rabbit relinquishment, this study investigated whether there was annual and seasonal variation in the number of advertisem*nts and ages of rabbits posted as free or for sale on classified websites in the United Kingdom. The number of advertisem*nts posted decreased from 2014 to 2016. There was an increase in the number of advertisem*nts for free rabbits in winter compared with other seasons, which could be a result of caregivers' reduced willingness to interact with their rabbits and carry out husbandry during periods of inclement weather. Rabbits advertised as free were older than rabbits advertised for sale, and rabbits relinquished due to human-related reasons were older than those relinquished because of rabbit-related factors. It is recommended that further research is undertaken to elucidate whether providing education to prospective rabbit caregivers regarding the life span of rabbits and their substantial husbandry requirements, e...
Animals
Is UK Puppy Purchasing Suffering a Long COVID Effect? Ongoing Negative Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic upon Puppy Purchase Motivations and Behaviours in 2021
Claire Brand
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in acquisitions of puppies in the UK, dubbed the “Pandemic Puppy” phenomenon. In addition to an increased demand for puppies, widespread changes to both why and how puppies were purchased during this period compared to pre-pandemic 2019 purchases were documented, many of which threatened canine welfare (e.g., puppies being collected away from their place of birth, without seeing their mother). This study aimed to explore which changes to the pre-purchase and purchase motivations and behaviours of UK owners who purchased a puppy aged <16 weeks in the 2020 phase of the COVID-19 pandemic had persisted into 2021 or had returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. An online survey was conducted during February to April 2022 from which 2080 valid responses were analysed (“2021 puppies”) and compared with previously collected data from comparable cohorts in 2019 (n = 1148, “2019 puppies”) and 2020 (n = 4369, “Pandemic Puppies”). While the majority of the pe...
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Pets in Print Advertisingare We Seeing More of Rover and Fluffy? A Content Analysis of Four Popular Magazines
2009 •
Marilyn Helms
45 Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, Volume 13, Number 1, 2009 PETS IN PRINT ADVERTISINGARE WE SEEING MORE OF ROVER AND FLUFFY? A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF FOUR POPULAR MAGAZINES Charles M. Mayo, Kennesaw State University Donna ...
Animals
On the Record: An Analysis of Exotic Pet Licences in the UK
Angie M Elwin
Keeping exotic pets has become a popular habit in the UK in recent decades. Yet, information on the current scale of the trade and the diversity of animals involved is lacking. Here, we review the licensed sale of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals as exotic pets in the UK, identifying current geographical hotspots of trader activity, data gaps, and compliance issues related to this trade. In terms of trade volume, records showed large numbers of individual wild animals, across a wide range of species groups, are being legally sold in the UK. Maximum numbers of exotic pets permitted for sale included 54,634 amphibians, 64,810 reptiles, 23,507 birds, and 6479 mammals. Moreover, nearly 2000 pet traders located in 283 different local authority areas had permission to sell exotic pets. The scope and scale of the trade draws additional attention to the substantial animal welfare challenges associated with it, and our review serves to highlight several shortcomings associated with t...
Sociological Forum
The Changing Valuation of Dogs
2020 •
Justin Van Ness
In recent decades, the United States has witnessed profound changes in the sociocultural valuation of dogs, variously described as humanization, sentimentalization, or sacralization. A broad look at this “sacralization” of dogs in the United States reveals that this changing valuation has altered dogs’ place within economic processes. In particular, these changes parallel Viviana Zelizer’s work on the changing valuation of children a century ago. In this article, we further specify Zelizer’s insights by arguing that these accompanying economic transformations are best understood as shifting of a dogs’ place within budgetary units: from objects for human consumption to fellow actors humans consume with and around.
