Document type: news item from One Voice
Author : One Voice
Extract : [...] A few months ago, the Toulouse École du Chat Libre asked for our help after carrying out a meticulous survey of illegal ads on Leboncoin. To ensure that its efforts were not in vain, we have joined forces and are taking legal action to put an end to this deplorable trade in living beings.
Although the identification of dogs and cats is compulsory, in practice no checks are carried out on the Internet, and many puppies and kittens are sold without being registered. Yet compulsory registration is a means to limit the number of animals from "puppy farms" that are sold before they reach the minimum age, or from individuals who refuse to have their animals neutered. It also helps bring an end to buyer irresponsibility, with some buyers abandoning unidentified animals without a second thought a few months after purchase.
A legal duty is flouted, and once again it is animals who are the victims
Since 2021, though, the law has been clear: hosting sites must carry out a system of checks prior to publication of an advertisement, in order to verify the animals' registration chip or tattoo number. Advertisements using false numbers should therefore not even appear online, and advertisements for unidentified dogs and cats even less so! Despite this, dozens of non-compliant ads are posted on the site every day! While most of these have fortunately been removed, how many have slipped under the radar? No fewer than five legal complaints have been lodged jointly with our partners, l'École du Chat Libre de Toulouse. A sixth will follow very soon. [...]
