The Preloved Pet Pledge

What we're doing

We've pledged to put animal welfare at the forefront of everything we do here at Preloved.

When Preloved first began accepting adverts for animals in 1997, the normal way of advertising a pet was in local papers, newsagents' windows, or notices pinned to lamp posts. We were one of the first online sites to introduce a minimum age for rehoming animals, control the sale of illegal breeds and ensure dogs are not illegally docked.

Today, we continue to tighten these checks still further to ensure all animals can be bought or rehomed safely. For example, we maintain a complete record of every buyers and sellers activity. We require members to register as a Business in order to list 3 or more litters in a 12 month period, providing a breeding licence from the local council where required by law and we will stop them advertising when we receive complaints regarding the health of animals they have sold. We are also able to trace any sellers who attempt to open multiple accounts with different identities and stop them from doing so.

With all of this in place, Preloved offers a much more controlled environment than that which existed before.

We also think it's important to have the right information to make a properly informed decision about which pets and breeds are best suited to individual lifestyles. We fully recognise that pet ownership is a huge commitment - from the moment they're first brought home and for years to come - so that's why we're continually adding more advice, guidance and tips to our pet pages.

You Can Help!

You can help us stamp out animal cruelty. If you have any concerns about an advert on Preloved - tell us. Or if you've met an advertiser and have some worries - let us know.

Find out more about how you can help...

The Preloved Pet Pledge

Maintaining high welfare standards is a complex task. Here are just some of the things we're doing:

  • We provide help and advice on responsible pet ownership to our members and promote this heavily throughout the site.
  • We require members to register as a Business in order to list 3 or more litters in a 12 month period, providing a breeding licence from the local council where required by law
  • We prevent the buying and selling of animals for profit
  • We maintain a complete record of every buyers and sellers activity
  • We trace any sellers who attempt to open multiple accounts with different identities and stop them from doing so
  • We do not allow animals to be sold at too young an age
  • We do not allow the sale of pregnant animals, nor animals not yet born
  • We do not allow animals to be swapped
  • We ensure the sale of endangered species is properly controlled according to DEFRA rules
  • We prevent the sale of banned breeds and animals that have the potential to be dangerous
  • We do not allow the sale or promotion of dogs that have been illegally docked and / or cropped
  • We do not allow the rehoming of animals that have been imported, unless by a UK registered animal welfare charity
  • We do not allow the sale of horses, ponies or donkeys without a passport
  • Where we have concerns regarding the welfare of an animal we will report this directly to external Welfare Organisations.
  • In order to be listed for sale and / or loan on Preloved, all dogs, cats, horses and ponies must be microchipped (dogs by 8 weeks old, cats by 4 months old)

If you see an advert which you feel may break any of these rules, please let us know by clicking "Report Advert" to the right of the advert page.