If you are a parent, you certainly know the pressure that comes from your children, who’re trying to influence you to buy them a cute pet. And because your children are your entire world, you do anything that is in your power to please them. Given the circumstances, you go online, on Google, and you type “puppies to buy” in the search box. Once you press enter, you immediately become an easy victim for ‘petfishers,’ who are just waiting to meet people like you to trick them. The worst part isn’t that you lose some money. Even more unpleasant than this is that you have to watch your new puppy dying slowly and your kids being affected by the fact that their pet is not doing well. In the end, you have to put the pup to sleep because you are tired of seeing it in pain.

In short, you have been ‘petfished.’ Derived from the term ‘catfishing,’ the practice of pretending to be somebody else on social media, this action tricks people into buying pets online, thus depriving them of the possibility of finding out the history of the animals they are buying. Such sellers take advantage of the naivety of the buyers and sell them sick animals just to make easy money. If you are like us, then your main concern will be the well-being of the pet, not the money…And, of course, the well-being of your kids, who will have a hard time with the fact that their pet, that has just entered the family, has passed away.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) knows how this feels like, so it launched the campaign suggestively titled ‘Petfished,’ giving online buyers a lesson about the deceitful animal sellers. To contour the campaign, the government joined hands with behavior change agency 23red, production company Fat Lemon, and hired journalist Leah Green to track down this phenomenon.

At the heart of the campaign stands a docu-style video featuring two moving case studies of people who have been ‘petfished.’ Both of them found their pets online from seemingly safe families. However, shortly after, they noticed that their pets have become ill. In one case, the kitten was so ill, that it was necessary for it to be put to sleep within a week after being bought.

Wendy Manuel, Business Director at 23red, said: “Sadly, research has shown that one in five vets have reported an animal seller to authorities after treating an illness likely caused by poor breeding conditions. This is a disturbing sign that low-welfare breeders are operating on a much larger scale. We hope this campaign empowers the public to check #Who’sBehindThePet before parting with their money.”

Charlotte Armitage, Deputy Head of Campaigns for Environment, Water and Welfare at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, added: “This new campaign aims to help prospective pet buyers make the best possible choices before welcoming a new dog or cat into their home. We’re seeking to highlight the importance of researching who you are buying or adopting a pet from, to avoid being ‘Petfished’. The campaign encourages everyone to read our tips on how to spot warning signs that an animal has been raised in low welfare conditions by searching ‘Get your pet safely’.”

Our advice for you is to always double-check the history of the pet you are planning on buying and the person who is selling it. If you still have doubts, then you can always choose to adopt (there are thousands of stray dogs and cats that are waiting to have a family).

Credits:

Client: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Agency: 23red