The astonishing figure is hidden in one of the statistical barometers published a few days ago by the I-CAD, the company commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture to manage the identification file (chips and tattoos) of domestic carnivores: Ile-de-France is the leading importing region with 7,022 dogs and cats arriving from abroad in 2020. It is even in Paris that the most animals are imported: no less than 1205 puppies and 645 cats last year!
And it is not because the Parisians will choose their companions in specialized stores, for lack of breeding nearby.
Still according to the I-CAD, "breeders and animal shops are respectively at the initiative of 12.8% and 9.2% of imports".
The rest is therefore mainly the responsibility of individuals, who are however not so numerous to return from a trip with an animal in their suitcases.
In total, 40,900 imports were declared to the I-CAD in 2020. A phenomenon that has increased by 22.8% in five years.
False papers
It is only the tree that hides the forest: "Between 50,000 and 100,000 puppies enter France each year thanks to false papers, knowing that there is a need for 800,000 puppies each year in the country", states a recent Information Report from the European Affairs Committee on the protection of animal welfare.
Most come from the European continent, mainly from Eastern European countries.
In 2001, a fact-finding mission of the National Assembly on the identification of dogs and cats obtained the list of prices charged by companies in Eastern Europe: "The comparison with the prices recorded in pet shops in Paris is edifying since we see that the margin achieved exceeds 200% and sometimes exceeds 500%.
"
Watery ad and rock-bottom price
Twenty years later, the phenomenon has accelerated: "These puppies, bought between 150 and 300 euros, will be sold between 1000 and 1500 euros at least" according to the European Affairs committee. The sums at stake make domestic animals the 3rd largest traffic in the world, behind those of arms and drugs, "because it is much less supervised: traffickers risk weak penalties for a traffic which is becoming more and more lucrative", deplores she does.
Individuals, for their part, most often participate in this traffic “through ignorance,” notes Franck Verger, a specialist investigator at the National Veterinary Investigations Brigade.
People buy their puppies on the Internet, the animal travels with a smuggler who declares a non-commercial trip, and the animal arrives with compliant papers.
But the puppy is not most of the time.
He is too young to be weaned and vaccinated properly.
"
Read alsoHow I found a seller and a smuggler to buy a Russian puppy
In some cases, buyers jump on the bargain price of a tearful ad, allegedly from a family needing to urgently reposition their puppy.
"Most often, they know that it is imported but have not thought about rabies, are not sufficiently aware of the regulations or sufficiently knowledgeable about animals to see that it is younger than advertised", notes Franck Verger.
"In these cases, the puppies benefit from falsified passports and the national authorities do not have the means to recognize the veracity of these documents", confirms the report of the deputies.
"A major health risk"
The authorities therefore point to a "major health risk because these dogs are not vaccinated or were vaccinated just before their departure, the vaccine therefore not having had time to take effect." While France is currently free from rabies, they fear the return of this scourge. Especially since, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Poland and Romania are classified "
at risk of rabies
". However, dogs must systematically undergo a serum titration (blood test to verify that the vaccine is indeed active), except those from the European Union ... and a few others, such as Russia, which benefit from an exemption, although they are rightly mentioned on the list of countries at risk.
It is not uncommon for individuals to discover during their first visit to the veterinarian that they have been complicit in an illegal import, punishable by two years' imprisonment and a fine of € 300,000.
In fact, such a sanction would only fall for heads of networks or professionals ... provided they are in France.
An association has just been entrusted with 95 puppies seized by the authorities
The master, however, risks some trouble. “The main concern is the fight against rabies, insists Bruno Tessier, president of the council of the order of veterinarians of Ile-de-France. When we examine a dog, we make sure that the animal was of legal age to enter France, that the vaccine is mentioned on its passport and that the latter corresponds to the chip number, but we can not verify that this was done by a professional since there is no European file of authorized persons. And last week I saw a client bring me her Yorkshire again, officially 4 months old, not more than a month and a half in fact. However, we cannot vaccinate against rabies before 3 months. In that case,veterinarians are required to report to the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations, which requires surveillance of the animal. "
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"The immediate sanction is to have a sick animal, not weaned, born in a puppy mill and not socialized: the conditions are met for it to become a dog suffering from behavioral disorders in adulthood, with fear and aggression, ”sighs a breeder.
"So many reasons advanced during the withdrawals afterwards!"
»Annoy animal protection associations.
Already requested by individuals, they also recover animals seized by the authorities.
Last month, one of them was given no less than 95 puppies removed from four pet stores on the Côte d'Azur and one in Paris.
Reason: they were all too young to comply with health regulations.
NUMBERS
Animal trafficking
ranks third in the world, behind arms and drugs.
50,000 to 100,000 puppies
would enter France each year thanks to false papers.
1 in 8 puppies
are imported.
9.2% are imported
by pet shops, 12.8% by breeders and… 78% by individuals.
83.9% of imported puppies
come from the European continent, mainly Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine.
Purchased 150 to 300 € abroad,
they will be sold between 1000 and 1500 euros at least.
29,416 imported dogs and 11,435 cats
were declared to the I-CAD (ie + 22.8% in five years. The procedure is compulsory within eight days after acquisition.
