Disreputable Puppy Trade: Crime Scene Shifted Abroad

From 1 February 2025, the commercial import of dogs under 15 weeks of age will be prohibited.

This also applies to private individuals who wish to sell or pass on foreign puppies in Switzerland. However, because certain breeds are rare or not bred at all in this country, private individuals should still be able to import younger puppies for their own ownership, provided they collect them personally abroad. The federal authorities speak of “responsible purchasing”, as very young, still disease-prone puppies are no longer to be transported en masse across Europe — something that is very much to be welcomed from an animal welfare perspective.

A Massive Loophole for Disreputable Trade

Yet this measure is set to backfire. The draft ordinance had included a requirement for private imports to provide proof that the puppy came from a reputable breeder. Unfortunately, the federal authorities were forced to back down and removed this requirement during the consultation process. In future, young puppies will simply be handed over in greater numbers in a car park across the border by trafficking gangs — a practice that is already common today.

Puppy Mafia Benefits from the New Law

The disreputable puppy trade can even profit from this regulation. Private individuals who import a puppy themselves are also required to pay import duties. In addition, the dogs no longer need to be registered in the European animal trade system TRACES. The puppy mafia, however, not only saves costs and effort. The risk of being prosecuted by the Swiss authorities for unlawful practices or forged documents is also eliminated.

Problem Shifted Abroad

This regulation does not stop the unscrupulous puppy trade. Instead, the federal government is shifting responsibility to authorities across the border. That these authorities are also barely able to get the illegal puppy trade under control is demonstrated, among other things, by media reports from Germany — for instance when entire vans full of illegally imported puppies from Eastern Europe are seized. The new animal welfare requirements from February 2025 cannot solve this problem either.

More resources and stricter measures needed

Nadja Brodmann from Zurich Animal Protection regrets that the documentation requirement was removed: “The veterinary offices would need more human and financial resources to be able to inspect puppy breeding facilities and penalize violations.” Brodmann also calls for a tightening of the Animal Epidemic Ordinance. It should prevent the entry of simply “unknown” in the field “Animal owner at birth / import” when registering dogs in the national Amicus database, which would otherwise make the origin untraceable. “The unscrupulous puppy trade cannot be tackled with kid gloves,” says Brodmann. “What’s needed are real, concrete measures.”