Three months after activists started an online petition protesting the illegal sale of pets via online platforms, Quikr and Indiamart have banned such illegal sales on their platforms.
In a screenshot shared by Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, a CXO search consultant in Bengaluru, whose CJ Memorial Trust started the petition, Quikr sent an email saying that they would be discontinuing the sale of pets on their platform.
“If you want to give your pets for adoption or post an ad selling pet food, accessories or providing pet training and grooming services or have a pet clinic, you can post the ad in the respective relevant category. If you have posted any ad for pet sale, the same would be deleted from 5 September 2018 onwards,†the email read.
Priya also said in a Facebook post that Indiamart has taken a similar stance. “While they did not make an official communication, I called Indiamart, and Quikr as well, several times to confirm,†she told TNM.
She added that she was overwhelmed and humbled by this move. “We put in our efforts and made it happen. Many people from Bengaluru were involved. We said we will do it, and we did,†she said.
Priya also said that the move would save at least 3,000 puppies from being bred and sold online.
So Quikr & IndiaMART shut down their portal’s online pet sales . Finally . Nearly five months after #Bagheera was bought like a bag of mints #online, it seems we see the light at the end of the tunnel . The big players started shutting down pet sales on their portal . I called both many times to confirm & reconfirm . This could annually save at least 3000 pups from being bred & sold online every year. Just imagine . Team #BOPS, you did SO great , and #History will thank you . A grateful #Bagheera has something to say to you, so listen to this video. Especially at the end. I cried. Thank you - Anushree Thammanna for the post that triggered the #NoMoreBagheera campaign & such horrified rage in Bangalore , @Sudha Narayanan & CARE for taking SUCH loving care of him as did Kriti Vasan. He is buried in Care so lay a flower on his grave today for us . Indefatigable Neeraj Verma n my beloved Knights of Cubbon Bark who jumped in , took it national and ran the best campaign ever. @Rachel Chenchaiah who got her legal mind working to trigger this , @gautam Polusamy who gave the strongest legal backing , the low key Anju Chandrashekar for being incredible in creating a strong backbone and eventual PIL Sindhoor Pangal Who supported wholeheartedly with Bombat , as did Sanjana Madappa with the Second Chance n CUPA teams. @Prasad Bidapa who told me : Let’s Get them, Priya . We did, Prasad. Media also really responded and supported this campaign . And so many who jumped in with all their hearts , so many .. It’s a little disjointed but do read this note https://m.facebook.com/notes/the-cj-memorial-trust/quikr-to-shut-down-their-online-sales-of-pets-nomorebagheeras/1440797742730578 #BanOnlinePetSales #BOPS #Victory #Believe
Posted by The CJ Memorial Trust on Friday, September 7, 2018
Background
Several activists and animal welfare workers in Bengaluru and even from outside the city came together in May to protest against the online sale of pets. This happened after Bagheera, a white Labrador puppy, was sold when he was just 21-days-old, on one such site, and bought for Rs 13,000 by a young first-time dog owner. The dog, however, met a tragic and painful end.
Due to unhygienic breeding conditions, Bagheera soon got sick with canine distemper. The young pup had not yet weaned off his mother either. He was given up to a foster home and then handed over to CARE on April 19. After 15 days of suffering, the little puppy breathed his last.
Like Bagheera, several other puppies and dogs had suffered a similar fate, activists argued. They also said that this was illegal on several grounds. TNM had reported then:
First, section 4 of the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules (2017) of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), mandates that all breeders must obtain licenses. Further, “all licensed pet shops shall source/procure pups from licensed and registered breeders only, with proof of the same being available in the form of adequate records,†the rules state.
Priya argued that e-commerce platforms such as Quikr and OLX must ideally to ask for and display licenses of breeders from everyone who posts a sale of puppies on their platform.
Second, puppies have to be a minimum eight weeks of age before being sold or even transported (unless the AWBI permits otherwise in specific cases). Like Bagheera, there are many puppies, much younger in age, which have been put up for sale on these platforms.
Third, display of puppies on a public platform for immediate sale is also not allowed under section 13 of the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules, which talks about the ‘conditions for sale’. “So technically, display of pups online in a public forum contravenes this. It’s illegal,†Priya had argued.