Stop buying pets on the Internet! It’s not just cruel but also illegal

How often have you seen posts or ads popping up on your social media timelines, claiming to sell ‘beautiful quality’ ‘high-end’ ‘pure breed’

dogs

on a discount or ‘show quality puppies’ at a negotiable price? The 100%, sometimes even 200%, guarantee of the breed definitely sways many, especially when the ‘both males and females available’ post is combined with pictures of adorable, cherubic puppies. However,
before buying puppies from such sellers on Facebook, or even OLX (which claims to allow only licensed breeders), how many stop to wonder whether the puppy is a product of an illegal puppy mill?

Living, breathing beings reduced to commodities online
Gone are the days when owners picked up dogs only after forging a bond with one specific pup. now, it’s the ‘cuteness’ factor based on pictures and ‘champion’ bloodline that are considered before buying. Online buying has reduced these animals to a mere commodity, lament animal lovers. “Almost 90% of pet sales are initiated online now. On Facebook alone, there are over a dozen pages that list puppies for sale. online sales have only encouraged aggressive breeding culture,” says Pradeep Nair, an animal rights activist.
Take for instance a website called Marshallz pet zone. One of the queries about a

Daschund

dog for sale reads, ‘How much shipping charges apply for kota rajasthan? And after payment u send me puppy pics if I don’t like it than what is ur policy about for this?’ (sic) the answer to this is equally callous: ‘Rs 4,000 is the shipping charges for Rajasthan. If you do not like the pics of the puppy, we will refund you.” (sic) But the question that remains unasked, and unanswered is, what happens if the pup is shipped and is no longer desired by the buyer once it reaches the destination? Vizag based animal rights activist Dr Tripta Kaur recalls one such instance: “A pet owner called me from Hyderabad telling me he had ordered for a Labrador online, but it was only four months after receiving the dog that he realised it was a stray! I’ve seen several such cases where the pup was abandoned either because it was unwanted or due to health issues. These health issues occur due to over-breeding and cross-breeding, where dogs are mated more than once a year and with other breeds of dogs. The resultant genetic modification leads to many diseases.”

Dispatched like just another courier, PUPS go through hell
Those who shop for

pets

online don’t think twice before clicking ‘BUY’. But once the deal is sealed, the poor animal’s ordeal begins. “imagine someone sitting in one end of the country deciding to buy a puppy from another end of the country.
Being transported long distances in dismal conditions take a toll on the animal. Breeders usually ferry animals on trains or buses, in unhygienic and unsafe conditions,” says Pradeep. While the Indian railways provide the option of transporting dogs in the guard room of the train, there is provision to carry just one dog. “However, it’s often found that these rooms are crammed with dogs. That’s just the beginning of the torture. Ideally, dogs in transit have to be monitored every two hours, else they can be under a lot of stress. A breeder isn’t bothered about such things; he usually just dumps them like a consignment to be picked up only at the destination,” adds Pradeep. Another preferred mode of transport is busses, and it’s worse — dogs are often sedated and put in small boxes or bags to avoid being traced!
Not just puppies, female dogs too go through similar ordeal as they get transported to bigger cities for mating with champion dogs. “The stud dogs of Bangalore are most sought-after by breeders. So, females from cities like Hyderabad, are taken to Bangalore for mating and brought back. Later, one puppy is sent back as ‘payment’. this happens round the calendar, literally,” says Pradeep.

Laws governing animal breeding and selling flouted blatantly
As per law, the local municipality is supposed to register all animal breeders, but the implementation is bleak. A GHMC veterinary official explains that every animal breeder is supposed to register with the GHMC by paying Rs 10,000 annually. However, only a handful of breeders bother to do that. “rules also state that basic medical checks must be carried out, the puppy has to be at least two months old before it is sold, and that a dog can only be made to breed once a year — but clearly, no one is paying any heed. A highly-placed official from GHMC says, “Many breeders locate themselves out of the municipality limits, in places like Kompally etc., to escape the laws and surveillance. ”