DoneDeal has temporarily suspended adverts for dog sales on their website following the spike in dognappings across the country.
But the e-commerce website added that they won’t be removing the dogs section permanently as this “may push activity offline and lead to reduced transparency when it comes to advertising dogs”.
Dog thefts have soared by 50% in the past two years, according to official figures from the Department of Justice.
There were 145 reported thefts reported in 2018 before it rocketed to 210 last year.
In a statement, DoneDeal said: “DoneDeal works closely with several animal welfare groups including the ISPCA and Department of Agriculture in order to comply with legislation and meet the standards set out by bodies such as IPAAG (The Irish Pet Advertising Advisory Group), of which we are a member.
“DoneDeal take our responsibilities as an advertising platform very seriously and will continue to introduce measures to further improve animal welfare and advertising transparency in Ireland.
“As we work on further solutions to improve animal welfare and in light of unprecedented demand in Ireland we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend the dogs section from 7th August 2020.
“Unfortunately we believe removing the section may push activity offline and lead to reduced transparency when it comes to advertising dogs.”
The website also encouraged users to report any false or misleading advertisements to the customer service team.
The move was praised by animal welfare group My Lovely Horse Rescue.
The charity said on Facebook: “Happy to report that DoneDeal have made the decision to temporarily suspend the dogs section.
“They have taken the concerns of Animal Welfare Organisations on board and have seen the demand and the cruelty during Covid.
“THANK YOU DONEDEAL for listening and being proactive”
