Dieren geDownload - Platform Verantwoord Huisdierenbezit

Dieren geDownload
Summary
Since its introduction, the internet has become a very important medium to communicate and retrieve
information. It is also widely used to buy and sell numerous things, such as companion animals. Companion
animals are animals that are kept in or near the home for companionship, sports or as a hobby, with the
exception of horses and as hobby kept small ruminants and poultry. Beside the possibilities internet offers,
trade in companion animals through the internet also causes problems. Little is known about the extent of
this form of trade. Therefore the Stichting Platform Verantwoord Huisdierenbezit (a Dutch organisation
which focuses on responsible pet ownership) issued a research project.
The goals of this research were to gain insight in the characteristics and extent of the Dutch trade in
companion animals through the internet and to make an inventory of the opinions of the stakeholders.
These goals resulted in the question: ‘What are the characteristics and the extent of the Dutch trade in
companion animals through the internet and what are the opinions of the stakeholders’
In a preliminary study prior to this research 12 general advertisement sites were selected to be the object of
this research. Concerning the characteristics of the trade a literature study was done to determine and
describe search strategies, different types of internet sites, different types of providers of animals, similarities
and differences between the 12 selected general advertisement sites, buying procedures, law and legislation
and inspection agencies. To determine the extent of the trade, all newly placed advertisements on the 12
selected general advertisement sites that offered live companion animals were counted. Each page was
counted for 14 days. The collected data consisted of:
• The species offered;
• The number of animals offered in one advertisement;
• The price asked for one animal;
• The number of advertisements in which animals were offered for free;
• The amount of advertisements.
To determine the opinions of stakeholders a survey was done among buyers and providers, and organisations
were interviewed. These organisations were:
• Marktplaats.nl and Speurders.nl, the two largest general advertisement sites;
• The Dierenbescherming and the Sophia Vereeniging, the two best known Dutch animal protection
organisations;
• IFAW, a well known international animal protection organisation;
• The Helpdesk Asielen and the Stichting Serpo, as representatives for animal shelters;.
• Mr Harm Evert Waalkens and Mr Henk Jan Ormel as representatives of the two largest political parties;
• The Dibevo, the only Dutch trade organisation for companion animals.
The nature of the trade in companion animals through the internet is very complex. Numerous search
strategies exist to find one of the many internet sites on which companion animals are advertised. The types
of internet sites can be divided into general and specific advertisement sites, sites of breeders, clubs and
forums, internet shops and sites of animal shelters. The types of providers of animals can be divided into
private persons (including hobby breeders), professional breeders, traders, internet shops and animal shelters.
The composition of the 12 selected general advertisement sites is similar to a large extent, but there are some
differences. The buying procedure is determined by the advertisement page, the animal provider and the
buyer. The closing of the buying agreement only takes place between the provider and the buyer. The
transfer of the companion animals usually takes place in person.
Several laws apply to the trade. Laws on advertisement sites, laws on trade in general and law concerning
companion animals. The AID, LID and IDG are three inspection agencies focussing on companion animal
welfare.
For the 12 selected general advertisement sites all new advertisements in 14 days were counted. The
following results were found:
• A total of 26,904 new advertisements were placed in which live companion animals were offered;
• 893 different (sub)species / animal groups were offered;
• The estimated number of animals offered was 86,360;
• The estimated value of these animals is a little over 9 million euros;
• In over 4,000 advertisements animals were offered that are on one of the CITES appendices;