Selling a Companion Animal

Selling or giving away a cat or dog

From 1 July 2019, people selling or giving away kittens, cats, puppies or dogs, will need to include an identification number in any advertisements.

The changes will help people looking to buy a cat or dog to know what the current owner has recorded as the breed, sex and age of the cat or dog, whether it is desexed, and whether or not it is already registered.

This will enable prospective owners to do further research and make informed purchasing decisions. This helps to promote responsible cat and dog breeding and selling. Animal welfare enforcement agencies will also be able to use this information to identify ‘problem’ breeders and to enforce animal welfare laws.

The identification number can be either:

  • a microchip number,
  • a breeder identification number, OR
  • a rehoming organisation number.

The new rule applies regardless of:

  • the age of the animal
  • the place you plan to advertise
  • whether you are a hobby or professional breeder; or your cat or dog has had an accidental or one-off litter
  • whether or not you bred the animal
  • whether or not the animal you are selling or rehoming has been born yet

The rules will apply to all advertisements, including those in newspapers, local posters, community notice boards and all forms of online advertising, including public advertisements on websites such as the Trading Post, Gumtree and social media sites.

The changes have been implemented in response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Companion Animal Breeding Practices

The changes help people looking to buy a cat or dog search the NSW Pet Registry to see the animal’s:

  • breed
  • sex
  • age
  • whether it is desexed
  • whether or not it is already registered
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