The dark side of the pet business: puppy mills and illegal imports

Illegal commercial activity involving pets can be divided into two phenomena: puppy mills and illegal imports of pets.

Puppy mills refer to the regular breeding of cats or dogs for sale in which the needs of the animals are neglected to maximise profit. A puppy mill can be located in Finland or abroad. In a puppy mill, puppies and kittens are not provided with appropriate nutrition and care in cramped and dirty conditions, which causes them suffering. Pets that grow in such a mill also often suffer from various health problems and infectious diseases (such as parvovirus and various parasites). Some of these diseases are zoonotic, which means that they can be transmitted from animals to people and vice versa and/or spread into the environment. Due to their health problems and infectious diseases, the puppies and kittens that are handed over at a young age may become seriously ill or die soon after handover. At the time of handover, the puppy or kitten may look healthy upon visual inspection, and the seller frequently does not fulfill their duty to notify the recipient of its sickness or injury (Animal Welfare Act 247/1996, 2:14). In such cases, the buyer may make a report to the police about fraud if s/he has been deceived about the actual origin, health or other significant matters concerning the animal. In practice, puppy mills always involve animal welfare offences.

Illegal imports of pets means that pets are imported without fulfilling the requirements that have been laid down in the EU and national legislation. In addition to national legislation, the basic requirements concerning pet movement are laid down in, for instance, the ‘Pet Movement Regulation’ (EU) No 576/2013 and ‘Implementing Regulation’ (EU) No 577/2013. The EU Pet Movement Regulation seeks above all to prevent the spread of rabies and echinococcosis, animal diseases communicable to animals and humans. Under the criminal law of Finland, importing a pet in contravention of regulations meets the characteristics of smuggling. Related criminal offences may typically include forgery, fraud or causing danger with regard to the spread of a animal disease. Buyers of pets may also be guilty of dealing in illegally imported goods if they acquire a pet that has been smuggled into Finland. Illegally imported pets often originate from puppy mills in another member state or third country, in which case the characteristics of the aforementioned animal welfare offences may be met. Puppy smugglers are individuals or groups of importers that import large numbers of puppies to another country in contravention of regulations.

National provisions prohibit the import into Finland of puppies and kittens under six months of age, if the purpose is to sell or otherwise hand them over in Finland within four months of import (Act on Animal Welfare 693/2023, Section 39). More information on the prohibition of importation of puppies and kittens [.fi]›.

Typical characteristics of illegal imports

Pets are imported into Finland both legally and illegally from the EU countries and from outside the EU. Pets are imported by both private individuals for their own companion animals and pets (non-commercial movements) and by various organisations, companies and other actors for redistribution in Finland (commercial imports). Commercial import of pets is intended for the further sale or other transfer of the pets in Finland.

As a considerable amount of commercial import of pets is also carried out legally and the import requirements vary by country of origin, it may be difficult for buyers to distinguish between legally and illegally imported pets.

Importers of animals, please see the import conditions on the website of the Finnish Food Authority [Only in Finnish] [.fi]›

If you are buying a puppy, pay attention to at least the following:

Age of the puppy: Illegal imports often involve young dogs that have just reached the age of adoption (normally 7-8 weeks old). The Animal Welfare Act prohibits the import of puppies under six months of age if they are to be handed over within four months of import.
Registration of a puppy: Puppies sold in Finland must always be registered in the Dog Registry of the Finnish Food Authority.
Breed of the puppy: Smugglers favour small and popular breeds.
Sale: Smugglers favour online shops and platforms where sales are made quickly. Smugglers want to sell the puppies before the symptoms of infectious diseases and any health problems become apparent.
Seller: Does the ad show all the information required by law.
Handover: All pet handovers that do not take place at the seller’s home are out of the ordinary.
Trading practice: A cheap selling price, preference for cash, urgency and vagueness of the place of sale and delivery method are among the most common signs of illegal import and puppy mill activities.

The methods used by puppy smugglers change fast. Earlier, the typical method was to hand over the pet at the harbour or at a petrol station, railway station or other such location with good transport connections. Nowadays, however, the puppy might be handed over at the seller’s home, where the puppy’s ‘fake mother’ may be presented to the buyer. In such cases, the puppy is sold as Finnish and as having been born in Finland. The buyer may discover that the puppy was actually imported from another country only after paying for it and accepting it. These days, such puppies are no longer necessarily cheap, either. Sellers of illegally imported pets might ask for the usual – or even a higher – price for the breed in question.

Number of imported pets is on the rise

The number of imported pets has risen substantially in the last ten years. The largest numbers of pets imported to Finland are from Russia, Spain, Estonia, Romania, Lithuania, Greece, Hungary and Serbia.

In recent decades, Estonia has been one of the major channels for pet imports to Finland. Dogs born in Estonia and the rest of the EU are imported to Finland through Estonia – but so, too, are dogs born in Russia, Ukraine or other third countries that have been illegally imported into Estonia. The pet business goes where the markets are.

Illegal importers of pets care about profits – not the welfare of the animals

The purpose of the illegal import of pets is the pursuit of economic gain. According to some estimates, the smuggling and sale of pets has become the third largest source of revenue in organised crime, immediately after arms and drug trafficking.

The importer can save costs, e.g. by growing puppies as cheaply as possible and often solely in puppy mills or farms set up for this purpose. In addition, the importer saves costs by withholding the required rabies vaccinations and medications, by falsifying import documents and by importing pets from outside the EU, bypassing the veterinary border inspection (border inspection fee). Counterfeit import documents are used to demonstrate that pets meet the import requirements or that the animal was actually born in the EU area.

Smugglers increasingly often copy their methods from organised crime. Typically, smugglers employ intermediaries: for instance, an Estonian operates a puppy mill in Estonia, another party transports the pets to the target country, and a third sells the pets in the target country. These operators usually break legislative requirements at every stage of the chain. In addition, puppy smugglers change their area of operations and methods quickly if the supervisory authorities get on their trail. Illegally imported pets are for the most part sold via cash transactions, which makes it more difficult to identify the seller as well as assess and trace the monetary gains from puppy sales. In online marketplaces, pet sellers often use a fake identity or give only their first or last name, prepaid phone numbers and other contact information that changes from one ad to another.

Illegal pet imports can yield substantial monetary gains. In the cases that have come to the attention of the supervisory authorities, the number of puppies imported by individual importers may be as high as 500 – 1,000 per year. If the average sales price of a puppy in Finland is EUR 1,000, this will bring the seller more than EUR 500,000 of taxable annual income. The monetary gains obtained from pet sales are well illustrated by the verdict of the Helsinki District Court in a pet smuggling case on 10 May 2019 (R 18/2256, not in legal force). In this case, the Estonian perpetrator was sentenced to forfeit a total of EUR 94,000 in criminal proceeds from pet smuggling to the state. This smuggler had imported a total of 500 pets in the period from 2014 – 2016.

The risk of being caught is often relatively low in relation to the value of the imported pet. The apprehension and possible loss of one consignment is not sufficient sanction for a serial pet smuggler.

Illegal pet imports cause costs for society

Illegal pet imports result in growing costs for society each year. A bite from an illegally imported pet is one of the most common reasons for starting rabies prophylaxis treatment in humans. This treatment is generally started in cases where a person is bitten by a pet from an area where rabies occurs, as once the symptoms manifest, rabies always leads to death in humans and there is no treatment.

Rabies prophylaxis medication costs about EUR 2,100 per patient. In 2018, prophylaxis treatment was administered to 46 people due to suspected rabies in the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District alone. The costs of rabies prophylaxis treatment thus amounted to almost EUR 100,000 in the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District.

Co-operation between the authorities plays a key role in monitoring the illegal pet trade

The Finnish Food Authority and Customs supervise the fulfilment of the entry conditions of pets at entry points, such as ports and airports. When an animal arrives from outside the EU, it must always be presented to the supervisory authority for inspection. Commercially imported pets from outside the EU are supervised by the Finnish Food Authority and non-commercially moved pets by the Customs. Pets transported from other EU Member States are supervised by the state veterinarians of the Finnish Food Authority and the Customs. Free movement exists between EU Member States, but the supervisory authority may inspect the pet and its documents.

The supervisory authorities may organise intensified controls, i.e. ‘pet raids’, at the points of entry. However, as illegal pet imports involve considerable criminal activity, greater co-operation and information exchange between the authorities and member states is required. Co-operation in Finland has been intensified between the supervisory authorities, Tax Administration, Police and prosecutors.

Consumers can influence pet smuggling with their choices

Consumers and individual puppy buyers have the greatest influence on reducing puppy mill activity and illegal pet imports. A consumer’s best means of promoting responsible pet sales is to buy their pet from a reputable and reliable breeder – information is available on the Internet sites of breed associations, for instance. Bying a pet should always be a well thought through decision. There are often waiting lists for purchasing a puppy of a popular breed. The buyer should visit the breeder of a puppy that is being sold as Finnish to have a look at the puppy at least twice before the adoption age and also see the mother nursing the puppies. A good breeder – whether s/he raises pure or mixed breeds – also wants to ensure that the puppy will be a good fit for its new home and family circumstances. The authorities recommend making payment for a puppy to a bank account. Dogs must be registered in the Dog Registry of the Finnish Food Authority before they may be handed over to their new owners, and new owners must receive the necessary information from the seller to submit a notification of change of ownership in the registry.

If the seller states that the pet has been imported from the EU area, the buyer must request a TRACES health certificate for inspection and check the pet passport for details about the pet and the vaccines it has been given. An animal imported from outside the EU must have a CHED-A veterinary border control certificate. In addition, the animal must be accompanied by a copy of the original health certificate certified by an EU border veterinarian. The original health certificate shall remain at the border control post concerned. A CHED-A certificate may be requested afterwards from the border control post through which the animal entered into the EU area. Further information on the import requirements is available on the website of the Finnish Food Authority [.fi]›.

When making a purchase decision, the consumer should keep in mind that a cheap puppy might turn out to be anything but cheap. In the case dealt with by the Helsinki District Court mentioned above, the buyer of an illegally imported puppy incurred a total of EUR 4,060 in costs from the purchase of the puppy, vet visits, intensive care and cremation. The purchase price was EUR 350. The puppy lived for less than two weeks after handover.

Page last updated 10/13/2026