Many people associate the term “smuggling” of drugs or weapons. Meanwhile, another business, in Europe, experienced a veritable Boom in the illegal dog trade. And the profits are comparable.
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The puppy mafia: the business with The dog
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The puppy mafia: the business with The dog
“Don’t forget to ask where they come from.” It is Stephen’s modified last instructions to the girlfriend, Claudia (Name), before the two on a street in Berlin suspected illegal dog traders set a trap. The police is already informed. Claudia, who has played several times for animal rights activists Stefan clip stone the decoy, has been reported as an interested buyer. It hits the dealer. These have to sell in the Berlin district of Wedding, a small Maltese dog.
“If I make the agreed sign, come quick, Yes?” Claudia asks the police officers and tried to cope with their Tremor. The cops and Stefan are watching the scene from a plurality of Hide and seek. The voltage rises. Three people claiming to be from Serbia, climb out of a black luxury car. They charge 500 Euro for a visibly sick puppy. Whether or not he is vaccinated, they don’t know. After further questions, Claudia takes the dog in his arms. The nervousness is unbearable. She makes the sign. The police will run out: “police! To the wall!” The violent dealers are arrested.
Almost daily clip stone searches for dubious Ads on the Internet and alerted the police. Also the suspect case from Berlin, he recognized immediately. His instinct for scammers, and has been confirmed: The dealer had a considerable criminal record.
Dogs such as drugs?
So a large rebellion for a small dog? The case of the Maltesers in Berlin is only a small fraction of what’s going on in the scene of the illegal dog dealers in Germany and Europe. Millions of dogs are annually transported illegally across Europe – sick, unvaccinated, without or with fake documents. Buyers are consistently cheated, the animals often die after the sale.
The illegal traders are earning unimaginable sums of money. Animal rights activists and some politicians warn that, in the meantime, the profits of the illegal dog traders are comparable with those of the drug dealer.
Renate Sommer (CDU), former members of the European Parliament, confirmed this information and said in a DW Interview of “organised crime” that had to be stopped at the European level. The Lea Schmitz, spokesperson of the German animal protection Federation said: “One can certainly assume that this is a organized crime, people, dogs here to Germany, and sell.” According to a study by the European Commission on a yearly basis almost 550.000 dogs are transported illegally across Europe’s borders. The are only the official Figures, so the discovered cases. The reality is likely to be much darker.
Problem Internet
A concrete cost estimate submitted by the NGO Four paws: Alone on eBay classifieds annually and 2.3 million dogs were sold. Most of the illegal. The Profit was 700 Euro per dog. The sum of the out looks: 1.6 billion euros. Only on eBay!
According to the animal protection organization “EU Dog & Cat Alliance” can be found in Europe on any day of dozens of Online platforms, about 400,000 Ads for dogs. Europol statistics show that the drug dealer in Europe-earn 24 billion euros per year. A simple calculation shows that the profits of The dog mafia look similar.
According to the German animal protection Association, the majority of illegally imported dogs coming from Romania, followed by Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. The transactions are mainly conducted via the Internet.
How does the dog mafia?
In addition to denRassehunden, which are increasingly under adverse conditions of illegal breeders in South-East Europe and for a much higher price in Western Europe sells, has developed another bizarre business.
The Romanian animal rights activist Marius Chirca
In Southeast Europe, the street dogs are a well-known image. Many are captured and in government shelters, where they may be killed after a certain period of time according to the law, if she receives no one. Some private local and international animal protection organizations to take care of these dogs. Nevertheless – or perhaps precisely because of the precarious Situation of the animals for many people pity forth, the business has developed with the street dogs: the illegal Export to Western Europe. Lea Schmitz from the German animal protection Association confirmed: “it is Often done under the guise of animal welfare, of money with these dogs.”
Stefan clip stone the Situation is well known: “It is said, to rescue street dogs, then 60-70 animals are brought from the shelters, and on Facebook to new owners, who do not know the animals at all, against protection fees will be taught. Some have established proper company, have specialized to bring these animals in masses from Eastern Europe to Germany.”
In principle, a noble idea alone, such “rescuers,” it is not the Welfare of the animals, but simply for the money. Involved supposed animal rights activists – for example, from Germany -working with intermediaries in Eastern Europe. Dogs are partially exported unvaccinated and with forged papers. A couple of Hundred euros per dog for vaccinations, legal passports and micro-chip-mark spending, would reduce the profits.
Because corrupt animal doctors help, the incorrect documentation issue. Dogs Trust,a well-known animal protection organization in the United Kingdom, was able to show a complex Search, such as simply traders were able to obtain in Romania, the false papers of veterinarians.
At the other end of the criminal spiral
What Stefan clip stone in Germany, creates, provides, in Romania, Marius Chirca. The former Bank employee has abandoned his Job and, six years ago, an animal shelter founded. It Show refunded, is fighting against the smugglers and tries to change the laws. Both Chirca, as well as clips of stone, were several times attacked by fraudsters physically.
The smugglers earn five-digit sums with a single Transport, told Chirca of the DW: “The ‘Savior’ then write: ‘We need money for Transport.’ And the German, the Italian, the Englishman begins to pay. So a couple of Thousand of euros. The dogs are brought to the location in a care, where sponsors are looking for. Then the next stage is the money for the supposed vaccinations, passports, etc., And is still collected once follows. Probably a total of 20,000-25,000 Euro for 30-40 dogs.”
An end in sight?
“It is frustrating for me,” says clip stone, “that the pet trade is not prohibited on the Internet still.” Such a ban is also not in sight, although the illegal dog meat trade has become a widespread phenomenon. In Germany, the police are only responding to Ads, as in the case of the Maltesers in Berlin. In addition, illegal dog be discovered transports a week on the highway, often by accident.
Unlike in Austria and Switzerland, where the dog was forbidden to trade on the Internet in the past few years, in law, neither in Germany nor on a pan-European level, targeted measures to stop the dogs-smuggling. And so on month-to-month earned millions of euros by smuggling dogs from Eastern Europe. During the DW Research, the Bavarian police has seized again with a dog Transport from Romania.