Traffico illegale di cuccioli - Italy in puppy trafficking halt

English below
La linea del Ministro degli Esteri è condivisa del Sottosegretario alla Salute.
“Gli impegni presi dal Ministro degli Affari Esteri e dal Sottosegretario alla Salute sono un’importante risposta positiva alla nostra petizione già sottoscritta da migliaia di cittadini e sono decisivi per contrastare efficacemente il traffico illegale dei cuccioli dall’Est Europa sostenendo Forze di polizia, veterinari, associazioni, negli interventi per porre fine a questa tratta" - dichiara Gianluca Felicetti, Presidente della LAV, e continua - "I reati sono effettuati contro gli animali e contro tutti noi visto che si evade il fisco e si mette a repentaglio la salute pubblica. Ai cittadini chiediamo di evitare di acquistare cuccioli preferendo sempre l’adozione di un quattrozampe, peraltro GRATUITA, da un canile. Ce ne sono decine di migliaia che attendono una nuova famiglia, questo sarebbe per loro il più bel regalo di Natale”.

La tratta dei cuccioli coinvolge ogni anno migliaia di cani e gatti, provenienti dai Paesi dell’Est, in particolare da Ungheria, Slovacchia, Polonia, Romania, Repubblica Ceca, importati in modo truffaldino falsificando i documenti, precocemente strappati alle cure delle loro madri costrette a continue gravidanze, sottoposti a infernali viaggi e imbottiti di farmaci per farli sembrare sani all’acquirente. La mortalità dei cuccioli nella fase che va dal trasporto ai primi mesi dopo l’arrivo in Italia raggiunge il 50%. La carenza di controlli sanitari e la violazione della normativa in materia di vaccinazione (es. vaccinazione antirabbica) comportano elevati rischi sanitari per l’Italia. Il valore di mercato di un cucciolo importato dall’Est (soprattutto Carlini, Jack Russell, West Highland, ecc.) e spacciato per italiano falsificando i documenti può aumentare fino a 20 volte, con un giro d’affari annuo stimato in 300 milioni di euri.

La LAV invita i cittadini a firmare la petizione con cui si chiedono interventi legislativi e maggiori controlli per contrastare la tratta dei cuccioli dall’Est Europa. Tra il 6 e l'8 dicembre prossimi (con repliche nei successivi fine settimana) la LAV sarà nuovamente presente in numerose piazze d’Italia – in particolare a Roma, Milano, Bologna, Bari, Palermo e altre ancora - per raccogliere altre firme a sostegno di questa petizione Per maggiori informazioni si può consultare il sito

http://www.nonlosapevo.com/

English
Italy is to negotiate a crackdown on illegal puppy trafficking with 13 Eastern European countries, Foreign Minister said Wednesday.

Announcing the launch of a special Italian task force to fight the international racket, Foreign Minister said he would ask Eastern European countries including Hungary, Romania, Estonia and the Ukraine for ''tighter collaboration'' on veterinary and customs control in a bit to stop pedigree puppies being smuggled over borders.

Frattini also pledged to lobby European Health Commissioner to strengthen EU rules on identification microchips for dogs and to adopt ''rigorous protocols'' for dog breeding practices. Italy, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden are among western European countries where traffickers sell puppies, usually falsifying documentation about their origins in order to get a higher price on the market.

Animal charities say one in four puppies die during the trip from Eastern Europe, when the animals travel in cramped conditions in the back of lorries.

According to Italian animal rights organisation LAV, the mortality rate reaches 50% a few months after the puppies reach their destination.

The puppies are routinely taken from their mothers too early and travel without vaccinations or health checks, risking the reintroduction of diseases such as distemper and rabies into countries where these have been stamped out, charities say.

Shihtzu, West Highland Terriers, Pugs and Beagles are the most trafficked breeds, with most coming from Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic, according to LAV. ITALIAN PUPPY TRADE RAKES IN 300 MILLION EUROS.

In Italy alone, the trade in trafficked puppies is worth an estimated 300 million euros a year, Welfare Undersecretary said.

Puppies bought in eastern Europe for around 60 euros each can fetch up to 20 times as much on the Italian market, where traders fake documentation claiming the dogs were born in Italy, LAV said. On the Italian market, a pedigree puppy known to come from Hungary is worth around 200 euros, while a puppy of the same breed born in Italy can fetch between 500 and 1,500 euros.

Although figures on the number of puppies being smuggled into the country each year are uncertain, a recent police operation uncovered evidence of around 70,000 puppies entering Italy illegally over the last five years. Current concern has been fired by welfare ministry figures that show a huge drop in the number of pets being imported legally from eastern Europe - from over 20,000 in 2006 and 2007 to around 900 in the first four months of 2008.

This decrease suggests traders are increasingly opting for illegal routes into the country. Martini said the new task force created by Italy's foreign and welfare ministries would serve as ''a great alliance to put an end to the shameful and illegal trade in puppies that, especially in light of the upcoming Christmas holidays, is registering an exponential growth''. Foreign Minister added that he was working with Justice Minister and Welfare Minister on making pet trafficking a specific crime in order to send ''a strong signal against this contemptible behaviour''. In October customs police discovered 38 puppies including Cocker Spaniels, Beagles and Jack Russels packed in cardboard boxes in the back of a Renault Espace, which arrived by ferry from Greece at the southern port of Bari. Two men were charged with animal maltreatment and the puppies, which would have fetched around 15,000 euros on the market, were transferred to a local dog home.
LAV President Gianluca Felicetti urged Italians who want a dog to take home one of the 600,000 animals currently in Italian dog homes instead.

visit http://www.nonlosapevo.com/