THE ILLEGAL PET TRADE: GAME OVER
THE EUROGROUP FOR ANIMAL WELFARE AND THE EU CROATIAN PRESIDENCY 2020
THE BIOCRIME MODEL OF CROSSBORDER COOPERATION HAS BEEN RECOGNISED AS AN EU BEST PRACTICE
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A CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY THE EUROGROUP FOR ANIMAL WELFARE AND THE EU CROATIAN PRESIDENCY.
Chapter 4, Organised Crime and Tax evasion, page 30
"...The group agreed that a multi-agency approach was required to tackle a trade that was high value, easy to undertake and pan- national. It looked at two existing networks where this is already being trialled. The Biocrime project was first established between the Friuli-Venezia Guilia and Carinthia Regions to prevent illegal trade in animals at the Italian/Austrian border, and focuses on the human and animal health issues arising from the illegal pet trade through a multi-agency approach. Operating under Decision 1082/2013/EU and with EU financial contribution under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), this cooperation operates under a formal agreement with the International Police Cooperation Centre (IPCC) at Thorl-Maglern, allowing veterinarians, public prosecutors and police to collaborate. By providing training and setting up protocols to deliver cross-border cooperation, the project has already established that 53% of pets traded illegally across the Austrian- Italian border had no documentation. As there are 43 IPCCs around Europe, the Biocrime project could be easily scaled up."