New regulations on selling and supplying of pets have been released.
These new rules make it easier to tell legitimate sellers from illegal breeders. Records have to be maintained by sellers and age restrictions have been placed when selling young pets.
The regulations, introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, largely focus on the online selling of animals and have been welcomed by the DSPCA and Dogs Trust.
Becky Bristow, Executive Director of Dogs Trust Ireland said: “For many years Dogs Trust has campaigned to improve the welfare of dogs in Ireland and we applaud the decision by Minister Michael Creed to improve the traceability of dogs being sold."
When advertising pet sales online, the advert now has to show the seller's registration number. If the pet is a dog, the microchip information has to be displayed.
Age restrictions are now in place when selling pet animals, such as a minimum of 8 weeks old for dogs and 6 weeks old for rabbits.
The DSPCA has "cautiously" welcomed the new regulations, saying it's a step in the right direction for the protection of animals.
A spokeswoman said: "The DSPCA wishes to point out to all online platforms which advertise animals for sale that they should take note of their responsibilities under the statutory instrument.
"In addition, any premises involved in the sale of pets should be aware of the requirement to register with the Department Agriculture, Food and the Marine and of the deadline in place for such registration."
The new regulations came with a voluntary Code of Practice for pet sellers.
