April 2026
Why Online Pet Sales Awareness Matters
We have just marked our Online Pet Sales Awareness Week (10th–16th April), the fifth year of this vital campaign, launched by Justice for Reggie to highlight the urgent need for regulation in online animal selling. Despite the availability of educational tools such as puppy contracts and guidance on buying puppies safely, the reality remains deeply concerning. Shockingly, around 80% of dogs and puppies sold online are believed to come from unlicensed breeders, unlawful sources, or large-scale commercial breeding operations.
Our focus is on exposing illegal breeders, puppy farmers, and unregulated sellers who exploit online platforms to hide cruelty behind carefully curated images and convincing adverts. Current legislation simply does not go far enough, leaving animal welfare compromised every single day. Many buyers, often unknowingly, purchase puppies from puppy farms where the true conditions are deliberately concealed.
Far too many new owners admit they never saw the breeding environment or met the puppy’s mother. We continue to hear reports of puppies being delivered to multiple locations to disguise the reality of their origins. Unregulated platforms — including websites, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and increasingly WhatsApp — allow these sellers to operate freely, with little accountability.
Before buying a puppy, ask yourself: Have I truly seen where they were born? Have I met their mum? If the answer is no, you may be unknowingly supporting a system built on cruelty.
Behind the scenes, breeding dogs hidden in puppy farms are often denied basic care. Many never see a vet. Some never experience daylight. Confined to cages, their bodies are pushed beyond limits by relentless overbreeding. Mothers suffer from untreated infections, prolapses, chronic pain, and extreme stress. Their lives are reduced to one purpose alone — producing litter after litter.
This suffering is not only physical. These dogs endure emotional trauma too, deprived of comfort, rest, and affection. Technically, a single dog can give birth to around 100 puppies in her lifetime — and in the hands of unscrupulous breeders, she often will, without any chance to recover.
How to Spot Unscrupulous Breeders and Protect Yourself
Always visit the puppies with their mother present, and observe their interaction — are they relaxed, healthy, and comfortable together? A responsible breeder will welcome visits and be happy for you to return. Be wary of resistance to follow-up visits, offers to meet elsewhere, or excuses about why the mother cannot be seen.
Red flags include sellers advertising multiple breeds, using stolen or stock photos, or presenting glossy online adverts that hide the reality of breeding conditions. Be cautious with paperwork — illegal sellers often operate sophisticated businesses, producing convincing but fraudulent documents claiming vaccinations or health checks that never took place.
Once money has changed hands, online sellers can disappear with ease, leaving families emotionally distressed and facing costly veterinary treatment. This is exactly what happened to Reggie — and in far too many heart-breaking cases like his, the puppy does not survive. A tragedy that could have been prevented with greater awareness - one that was not the fault of the owners, but the result of a system that allows cruelty and deception to thrive online.
Raising awareness saves lives. Every informed decision, every refusal to buy unseen, and every conversation shared helps challenge this cruel trade and protect dogs from a lifetime of suffering.