Illegal trade in puppies is a heterogeneous phenomenon since it involves several different types of crime such as violation of animal welfare rules, fraud, tax evasion or money laundering. Europol has been involved since 2017 in criminal investigations in several Member States (Italy, Spain, Slovakia, and the Netherlands) and Switzerland having led already to arrests of suspects in Spain.

When it comes to legal imports into the EU or trade between Member States, the figures (collected via the TRACES database(1)) are the following: in 2018 and 2019, around 16 000 dogs per year were imported into the EU. The countries of origin dispatching the highest numbers of dogs were the United States of America, the Russian Federation and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2018 and in 2019, almost 200 000 dogs per year were traded between Member States.

As regards border controls, EU legislation in this field(2) provides for controls at the EU external borders for every consignment of live animals coming from third countries; whereas no border controls are applied to any live animal, including pets, when they are moved between Member States.