My first thought was that genuine breeders don't advertise in these type of ads because they don't need to. Health issues - minimum legal requirements before a dog can be adopted or rehomed, etc. Any further suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you
I was looking at some classified ads yesterday for dogs in particular and other animals in general, and spotted a few which looked suspicious (puppy mills, back-street breeders) etc, to me. I sent an email to the "publication people" asking if they check on the individuals who place ads, and received a most encouraging reply. They informed me that as far as is possible they only accept genuine advertisers, and had indeed refused several would-be advertisers. They also asked me if I had any tips as to how they could weed out these less than scrupulous people.
I don't know if this helps, but here in an area close the French border, a dead give away is a French telephone number. These seem to be the relay persons from the mills in eastern europe.
Good on you for taking a stand, Merrylegs!
With dogs, one surefire sign of a battery farmer/puppy smuggler/BYB is that the pups/dogs are not chipped. The rule in Switzerland is:
http://www.blv.admin.ch/tsp/02222/02...x.html?lang=fr
Les chiots nés après le 1er janvier 2006 doivent être munis d'une puce électronique et enregistrés au plus tard trois mois après leur naissance et dans tous les cas avant d’être cédé par le détenteur chez lequel ils sont nés.
Roughly:
Puppies born after 1 January 2006 must be fitted with a microchip and registered no later than three months after birth, and in all cases before being transferred by the owner (i.e. breeder) from the place where they were born.
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In Switzerland the chip is supposed to be a trail from birth through all owners.
Reputable breeders in Switzerland have their puppies chipped and registered, then fill out the transfer papers on the sale of the pup. Ditto reputable rescues.
Puppies from outside Switzerland would of course have to be chipped to be legally imported.
No chip, no registration = potentially dodgy ad, further investigation should be done.
(Yes some individuals with cases of genuine hardship cases use the free ads to rehome or sell their pets. Some might get caught out with this. But even if they are genuine, they still must follow the legal requirements.)
I'll post back later with the classic signs of a battery farm/puppy mill...
Really glad to see you are doing this. When I read the free ads my blood pressure starts to boil over...
The Swiss SPA is on the case, and have been responding as interested parties to lots of those ads- and found that the whole issue is a huge problem, which is very difficult to fight against. Perhaps ask the refuge where you volunteer if they have any documentation from the SPA on the subject.
Does anyone know a good place to buy a brown labrador puppy in the Zurich area?
Thanks,
Not the free ads, for the reasons already stated in this thread. Be aware that anyone selling outside a reputable breed club is either a BYB or a battery farmer - stay away, do not support irresponsible breeding or animal abuse.
Take a look at this thread - yes, it's about goldies but the Retriever Club Schweiz covers all the retriever breeds:
pedigree costs - golden retriever
Additional thread with further info:
How to spot a reputable breeder
And, if you might consider a rescue, this thread has lots of good info:
Adopting a pet from a Rescue Centre
Yes, purebred labs do come into rescues in Switzerland with (sadly) some regularity. Keep an eye on the Swiss database of homeless animals:
http://www.tierdatenbank.ch/cms/tier...unschtier.html
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But before you go any further - have you had a dog registered in ANIS before? If not, you are considered a first time dog owner and required to do the SKN theory course before you acquire a dog. If that is your situation and you haven't done the course yet, make taking it a priority, as no reputable breeder or rescue will allow you to purchase or adopt a dog without it.
http://www.blv.admin.ch/themen/tiers...x.html?lang=de
Good luck in your search!
I think the only exception here would be those who want to re-home an animal, which is usually not a puppy or kitten. I have seen ads where desperate owners need to re-home an animal, perhaps even a horse. There can be many reasons. Illness or death of an owner, moving overseas, moving house and the pet is not allowed at the new location. Other reasons are someone is allergic, new job, new baby....the list goes on.
For these people going back to a breeder is rarely an option, taking the pet to a pet shelter is out of the question, and they really want to find a decent home. Many will not go their veterinarian for fear of being judged. In short, they often don't know anyone who can help them. Sometimes they know a sitter or trainer who can help them.
Of course one needs to be very careful when looking at these adverts, but there are some genuine ones out there. One must be very careful with animals needing special permits and housing requirements.
Not all classified websites will permit the selling of animals but there are enough that do. Some owners think they can remain anonymous by running an ad - but this is really not so. I once saw an advert from a neighbour looking to rehome their dog. I recognized the photo they posted. Also, the reason they gave was that they had another baby and the dog was too much for them.
Unfortunately dogs put on for rehoming via classified ads are very susceptible to end up being used for the horrendous use as "bait dogs".
I would suggest to see if the breed has a club which usually have a breed rescue attached - new homes are very strictly vetted with back up always being available.
So many animals ending up for rehoming for many reasons - use your instinct and if your circumstances could change - don't consider taking on the lifetime commitment of a pet.
Something folks might not know:
Private persons may list an animal in need of a new home on the Tierdatenbank, it's not exclusively for use by rescue organizations.
There are conditions, though - for private persons, the animal must be born in Switzerland, have a valid vac and be chipped. This is to prevent dubious folks trafficking animals into Switzerland from using the system.
A private person cannot use the online Meldung, it has to be written. The form is here:
http://www.tierdatenbank.ch/cms/file...atperson_d.pdf
The Tierdatenbank is the best place to reach serious animal lovers in Switzerland.
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Years ago the Free Ads were 'the' way to reach the public; unfortunately they have become so infested with dodgy and unscrupulous ads that many serious animal lovers avoid them. Thus there are better tools available to reach the kind of people one wants when in need of rehoming.