Bringing a pedigree dog into your home requires an actual purchase, which is a legal transaction. And as such it is governed by specific rules that determine its validity.
We have finally reached the moment when we must choose the new member of our family. We have done our research. We have read everything about the dog we like and, perhaps, we have even visited breeders and dog shows. Now that everything is ready for the purchase – because a "sale and purchase" transaction is precisely what this is – it is worth getting to know the legal side of the matter as well. This will help us avoid problems and misunderstandings that could undermine the trust we place in the breeder of our new friend.
Not only that. We will also avoid feeding a black market – the sale of animals without the necessary regulation required by law – which is proliferating ever more, causing serious harm above all to our small friends.
Bringing a pedigree dog into your home entails some fundamental legal steps. "To avoid making an ill-considered purchase of a pedigree dog – as happens all too often given the proliferation of individuals who, despite lacking the necessary requirements and/or qualifications, pass themselves off as professional breeders – it is worth knowing that legislation exists on the matter. It is Legislative Decree no. 529 of 30 December 1992. This decree transposed European Directive 91/174/EEC on the zootechnical and genealogical conditions governing the marketing of pedigree animals, extending its application to all species and breeds that were not covered by Law no. 30 of 15.1.1991 (which referred only to production animals), and therefore to dogs and cats as well," explains lawyer Francesca Gentilini.
There are therefore rules governing the marketing of "purebred" animals that prohibit, precisely, the sale of animals lacking a genealogical certificate (the so-called pedigree). This means not only that a dog (or cat) without a pedigree cannot be described as "pedigree," but that it cannot be transferred to third parties in exchange for money either.
"Article 5, paragraph 1 of this decree is very clear on this point, establishing the following: the marketing of pedigree animals of national and Community origin, as well as the semen, ova and embryos thereof, is permitted exclusively with reference to subjects registered in the studbooks or herd registers referred to in the preceding Art. 1, paragraph 1, letters a) and b), and accompanied by the appropriate genealogical certificate issued by the breeders' association holding the relevant studbook or herd register (Enci)," continues lawyer Gentilini.
Equivalent protection has also been established with regard to the "marketing of pedigree animals originating from third countries" for which the Minister of Agriculture has, by means of a specific measure, verified the existence of legislation equivalent to national law.
One must therefore be very careful about selling a dog in exchange for money and passing it off as a "purebred animal" when the four-legged in question has no pedigree – not only because the self-styled breeder could be ordered to repay the sum unlawfully received as the purchase price (upon return of the puppy, of course), but also because the law provides for penalties: "Unless the act constitutes a criminal offence," Francesca Gentilini continues, "anyone who markets the animals referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in breach of the provisions contained therein shall be subject to an administrative sanction of a payment of a sum of between 5,164 and 30,987 euros."
It is unfortunate, however, to have to note – as is often the case in other sectors too – how this legislation has remained, and continues to remain, largely a statement of intent devoid of any practical and effective application, because many of us (not all) when we "buy" a dog are not buying an object but "adopting" a living being who becomes part of the family, and so… who can still remember, alas, the rules, the sanctions and the laws? And it is precisely by exploiting this particular aspect that the self-styled breeders who now crowd the internet are able to operate and proliferate undisturbed.
Who will ever have the heart to return the sweetest little bundle placed in our arms when it becomes clear that the long-awaited pedigree needed to certify it as a "pedigree dog" will never arrive? The excuses and stalling tactics are many: "the post office is running late; the pedigree is costly and requires a surcharge; what use is a pedigree anyway if the dog is a companion animal" – and so on. And in this way, the pedigree dog we purchased at considerable financial sacrifice will be in every respect identical to the crossbreed we could have rescued from one of the many dog shelters scattered across our country. Something not to forget when we open our hearts – and our wallets – to the arrival of a small creature in our family. Rescuing an abandoned dog – and there are many purebred ones in shelters – is a commendable act and is certainly better than enriching dishonest people who make a living at the expense of defenceless and unprotected beings.
