 "Quikr has ended animal sales, taken down pet trading listings: PETA India")
Animal rights body PETA India on Wednesday claimed that e-retailer Quikr has ended "animal sale" on its portal and taken down "pet trading" advertisements after the NGO appealed to it and also mounted pressure.
The NGO had alleged in 2018 that Quikr was allowing users, including dog breeders, to sell live animals, leading to violation of animal-welfare regulations.
Quikr continues to take down advertisements from dog breeders pretending to offer allowed products or services even now, but as of Tuesday, it had managed to remove all of the problematic ads, the NGO said.
"Following pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, e-retailer Quikr has followed the lead of OLX India by ending its animal sales, although there is still work to be done to make the site totally animal-friendly," it said in a statement.
"Quikr removed the pet adoption category that allowed dog breeders/pet shops to trade in animals under the guise of adoption on 1st December," it claimed.
According to PETA India, the text that appears in the portal's pets section now says, "Quikr has discontinued listings related to sale of any animals on its platform and any listings of this nature would be deleted. If you are in the business of selling pet food, accessories, or providing pet training & grooming or have a pet clinic, you can post your ad in the respective relevant category".
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The NGO said the move came after PETA India's Person of the Year, and long-time supporter, John Abraham wrote to Quikr.
PETA India also appealed to the company as well as state animal welfare boards and animal husbandry departments, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MoEIT), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) regarding this.
"As a result, the AWBI advised the MoEIT that e-commerce platforms must not trade in live animals without being registered as 'pet shops' with state animal welfare boards, and the Karnataka Animal Welfare Board ordered Quikr to withdraw all live-animal advertisements within the state," the PETA India statement said.
It added that Goa's Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services has issued a letter to OLX India and Quikr, directing them to immediately remove animal trade postings of the state from their websites.
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2018, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017, require every pet shop and dog breeding establishments to obtain registration and comply with other requirements prescribed under the rules.
"Quikr had never acquired such a registration, and failed to ensure that its users had one either," PETA claimed.
A reaction from Quikr was not immediately available.