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Animals: how pet stores circumvent the law prohibiting the direct sale of dogs and cats
Animals: how pet stores circumvent the law prohibiting the direct sale of dogs and cats
(France 2)
Nine months after the entry into force of the law prohibiting the direct sale of animals in pet stores, many businesses continue their business in the back of the shop. France Télévisions investigated these practices denounced by the associations.
Adorable little puppies, kittens that look like stuffed toys displayed in windows like simple merchandise. A vision supposed to belong to the past thanks to a new law: since January 1, 2024, dogs and cats can no longer be sold in pet stores. Direct offers are prohibited, in order to limit impulsive purchases and reduce the risk of abandonment.
However, by posing as customers, the France Télévisions teams were taken to the back of the store, where around thirty puppies and kittens were offered for sale.
Certainly, the animals are behind a door officially closed to the public, which the law requires, but we discover them locked in glass boxes as before. The law is in reality very weak. Although it officially prohibits direct sales, it accepts that pet stores offer them on their website. You can then come and collect the puppy you ordered, and even pay for it directly in store.
A “open door” for Lola Rebollo, from the “One Voice” association, who “proves that this law makes no sense and is of no use”. For its part, the ministry invokes a period of “transition” and tolerance towards pet store practices.
Watch the full report in the video above