October
Website Alliance
Richard has worked hard, not only with getting MP’s onboard for the ‘Justice for Reggie’ campaign, but also speaking with selling sites on a monthly basis. We spoke as a team about educating the public on buying an animal online and how we could help make it safer for the animals and the buyers. Richard knew something needed to be done following his tragic experience.
We live in a world with technology, we all agree that selling sites should not be allowed to sell living beings, but sadly that is not the world we live in today. It will work out better for people looking to buy an animal off a selling site if animal welfare was first and foremost high on the agenda. The selling sites have information from PAAG which is to follow.
On speaking with a selling site, they mentioned about how liaising with other sites and working together could help stop illegal sellers jumping from site to site after they get reported and blocked. Unfortunately, this is commonly seen throughout the well known sites. This question was asked when speaking with other sites to see if it was even possible, especially with changes in data protection.
On speaking with the selling sites, the Animal Welfare Alliance, developed by Richard was becoming more of a reality than a dream. The major selling sites were agreeing to have Zoom meetings with us to talk about changes the ‘Justice for Reggie’ team thought were necessary. This alliance includes major UK selling sites, working together to share information on suspected illegal sellers across their sites, and to enable sharing of information with enforcement agencies. The aim of the alliance is to eliminate illegal and fraudulent breeders, by blocking the seller’s access to all alliance member sites, thus removing individual adverts from all the alliance sites and sharing information about suspicious accounts to enforcement agencies. They can then investigate further with the hope of a successful outcome.
The Animal Welfare Alliance will create huge benefits for animal welfare across the UK and NI. In addition, it will limit the illegal breeder’s access to potential victims, making websites safer for potential buyers. We are hoping that together we can essentially focus the reporting and investigating of suspicious user accounts which involves sharing all information over to parties, who will then investigate and build a case against illegal breeders more effectively.
The alliance was an idea to help educate buyers and prevent them experiencing the heart-breaking experience that Richard and his family endured. The alliance has created an easy to follow checklist which will be displayed on all of the alliance sites. There will be tips on how to safely buy pets online and signpost links to further information and resources that would be useful to new pet owners. The selling sites will also display information on how to report animal welfare concerns, and will have information to report any suspicious adverts or sellers, which will be sent to other alliance members and authorities who can also investigate further.
Selling sites need to be regulated to stop illegal sellers from being able to use the platforms with very little documentation, and proof of who they really are. Having the alliance will ensure animals will have more of a fighting chance in terms of health and welfare which I’m sure will be welcomed by all.