Pets: Sales

(asked on 21st January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote the Petfished campaign to the general public.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 29th January 2021

Petfished was launched in March 2020 ahead of Lucy's Law coming into force. The campaign aims to encourage prospective owners to stop and question 'who's the person behind the pet?', and to research the seller before visiting the animal.

The campaign has been delivered in three phases. This included a launch in March 2020 followed by subsequent pushes around the traditional peak seasons for sales (summer and pre-Christmas). Alongside the media launch in March 2020 the campaign was promoted at Crufts where our campaign video "Hero" was played in the arena. In July 2020 the campaign was promoted by an open letter signed by pet-loving celebrities and charity and veterinary organisations, as well as in interviews given by the Chief Veterinary Officer with BBC Breakfast and Sky News to discuss campaign messaging. In November 2020 the Petfished campaign was promoted in the media through the '12 Days of Petfished' video which outlined the risks posed by deceitful sellers.

Defra has promoted Petfished through its social media channels, supported by key stakeholders including the charity and veterinary sectors. The campaign has also been supported by a number of commercial partners who have provided support through pro-bono activities such as social media support, blogs, email marketing and website advertising space. Petfished messages have been promoted on popular search engines and social media sites. All the communications led back to our Petfished website where prospective buyers can obtain further advice and resources.

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