Local gov’ts check Japan pet industry for illegal sale of very young puppies, kittens

TOKYO — This November, local governments across Japan conducted on-the-spot inspections of breeders and pet auction houses, part of an ongoing probe into the illegal sale of young puppies and kittens.

The Act on Welfare and Management of Animals bans the sale or exhibition of cats and dogs 56 days (eight weeks) old or under. The environment ministry is investigating whether businesses had been skirting the law by selling animals with falsified birthdates, and requested municipal governments to do the inspections.

Auction houses are where pet breeders sell their puppies and kittens to pet shops. At the end of November, local government officials entered 17 of these businesses in nine prefectures: Hokkaido, Miyagi, Saitama, Kanagawa, Tochigi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka. The workers retrieved 10 years of data such as the animals' weight and birthdates. As well, over 100 breeders from across the country were asked to provide ledgers showing information including the animals' birthdates and rearing status.

The environment ministry had received reports this autumn that puppies and kittens with falsified birthdates were on display and being sold at pet shops, according to sources familiar with the situation. By checking things such as the mandatory microchips embedded in the animals, the ministry reportedly found a notable number had been auctioned sometime around 57 days after birth.

For that reason, the ministry decided a full, detailed investigation was necessary, and began by asking local governments to carry out general checks. A report will be drafted by year's end, with local governments asked to consider administrative guidance in malicious cases.

Because puppies and kittens are pet-buyer favorites, it used to be common practice to sell them around four weeks after birth, just as their baby teeth had grown in. However, separating the animals from their parents before seven weeks can lead to problem behaviors such as habitual chewing or howling. Also taking into consideration the higher infection transmission risk, the “eight-week rule” entered force in June 2021.

The Japan Pet Food Association estimates that Japanese households added a total of 426,000 dogs and 432,000 cats to their families in 2022. According to a pet industry source, a majority of pets in shop windows get there via auctions. The remainder were purchased directly from breeders.

(Japanese original by Hiroya Miyagi, Yuta Hiratsuka and Yukako Ono, Digital News Group)

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