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