A particularly large number of animals in Bavaria: 80 puppies in 16 missions
Hamburg. Four paws have been observing current developments in illegal puppy trade for years. From January to the end of June 2025, the Global Foundation for Animal Welfare has already noticed 369 illegally traded animals – including 315 dogs and 54 cats. A particularly large number of animals were taken up in Bavaria: 80 puppies in 16 missions. According to four paws, the number of unreported cases in the illegal puppy trade should be even higher, because the majority of illegal transports and illegal breeding remains undetected.
“369 dogs and cats- that is 369 terrible individual fates. Because behind every animal discovered there is unimaginable suffering. We have to assume that the number of illegally traded animals around autumn and winter will increase more strongly, as we have been able to observe in the past few years,” says Saskia Dauter from investigation and research team at four paws in Germany.
Small breeds and so -called “designer dogs” continue to be popular
Small dog breeds are still very popular in illegal puppy trade, such as Pomeranians, French bulldogs or Dachshund. But even larger breeds such as Labradore or Rottweiler were increasingly taken up in illegal trade in the first half of 2025. So-called “designer dogs”, mixed belts of two breeds, also stand out: “Illegal dealers have long been prepared for the great demand for poodle mixing lines such as maltipoos or Labradoodle and successfully offer them illegally on online platforms or through social media,” says Saskia Dauter of four paws.
In the illegal cat trade, Kitten of the British Shorthair breed is also particularly popular. But other breed cats such as maine coons, Burma cats or even exotic Savannah cats were also discovered in the first half of 2025 by the authorities in the illegal border crossing-some with fake papers-or from illegal breeding.
Illegal pet trade massively difficult by EU vote
The European Parliament decided against illegal pet trading in a pioneering vote on June 19 and supported the full labeling and registration of all dogs and cats under human care. This long overdue measure will make illegal dealers significantly more difficult to act anonymously, since in the future every animal must be traceable. Significant improvements are also planned in online trading: Consumers should be given the opportunity to be able to control the dog or cat, for which you are interested in checking yourself via an online check system. The adoption of the final regulation is still pending.