Dachshunds with false papers: a vet goes on trial in France for microchipping puppies for illegal breeders

What the court heard

On 21 October the criminal court in Évry-Courcouronnes (Essonne, near Paris) heard a case of illegal breeding and trafficking of miniature dachshunds. In the dock were two women, accused of importing dogs, illegal breeding and animal cruelty, and a 70-year-old retired vet, who is accused of fraud as part of an organised gang.

Miniature dachshunds are fashionable at the moment, and the puppies were sold for around €1,200 each — through the popular classifieds site Leboncoin or directly on the street. The prosecutor described the trade as particularly lucrative.

How the scheme worked

In France every dog must be identified — by microchip or tattoo — and entered in the national I-CAD database. It is the database record that usually convinces a buyer that a puppy is "genuine" and has a legal owner.

According to the prosecution, the vet microchipped more than 300 dachshunds and entered false information in the database: fictitious owners and incorrect details of origin, age and sometimes pedigree. This gave the puppies the appearance of being properly registered and made them easier to sell. The prosecutor called the vet the "cornerstone" of the scheme and likened his work to a registration office.

Investigators describe the conditions the dogs were kept in as follows: in December 2025 eight puppies were found in a cage in a garden, and in June 2026, during hot weather, around thirty dogs in pens measuring 3 square metres.

What the defence says

The vet was arrested on 23 June. He says he could not check the identity of the people who brought puppies to be microchipped, and that he issued health certificates because the puppies were healthy when he saw them. He says the photos of the conditions the dogs were kept in shocked him. He also said that over the same period he had microchipped 10–15 Labradors.

What the prosecution is seeking

The prosecutor asked for a two-year suspended prison sentence for the vet, a €5,000 fine and confiscation of the money seized from his bank accounts. For one of the women she sought four years, one of them to be served, and a €50,000 fine; for the other, a one-year suspended sentence and a €7,000 fine.

Eight animal welfare organisations and France's National Order of Veterinarians — the professional body that oversees veterinary ethics — are civil parties to the case. The court will deliver its verdict on 9 December 2026.

Why miniature dachshunds were targeted

Illegal breeders choose breeds that are in high demand and that people are willing to pay a lot for. Miniature dachshunds are small, look good on social media and sell quickly. Yet the dachshund is a breed with well-known health problems, above all with the spine. Responsible breeders screen the parents and choose them to reduce the risk, while puppy farms breed without any selection, and those dogs are more often ill.

Under the standard of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), dachshunds come in three sizes — standard, miniature and rabbit — distinguished by the chest circumference of the adult dog. So you cannot tell a "miniature dachshund" from a photo of a small puppy: how big it grows depends on its parents, which puppy farms usually don't show.

Dachshund health: what to know in advance

The dachshund's main weak point is its spine. Because of its long back and short legs, it often develops intervertebral disc disease: a disc bulges and presses on the spinal cord. The first signs are that the dog yelps when picked up, hunches its back, doesn't want to jump or climb stairs and places its hind legs unsteadily. If the hind legs stop working, it is an emergency: get to the vet the same day — sometimes every hour counts.

Simple things help reduce the risk: keep your dachshund at a healthy weight, don't let it jump off the sofa or bed (a ramp can help), support both the chest and the back end when you pick it up, and walk it on a harness rather than a collar. Responsible breeders take back health into account in the puppies' parents — another reason to buy a dachshund only from them. Some dachshund lines also carry inherited eye diseases such as progressive retinal atrophy, so good breeders test the parents for that too.

Seven days to think it over

In France since October 2022, anyone getting a dog or cat for the first time signs a certificate of commitment and knowledge — a document about the animal's needs and the costs involved. The animal cannot be sold or given to them until at least seven days after signing. If a seller offers to let you take a puppy home "today" and says nothing about this document, that's another reason to be wary.

Signs of a puppy farm

• the seller is offering several popular breeds, or several litters at once;
• the puppies' mother is "at a friend's", "at a show" or isn't shown at all;
• you're asked to meet in a car park, at a station or a shopping centre, or delivery is offered;
• the puppy is listless, dirty, has diarrhoea or discharge from its eyes or nose;
• the paperwork was issued in another country, and the age on it doesn't match how the puppy looks;
• you're rushed into a decision and asked for a deposit to "reserve" the puppy.

What to do if your puppy falls ill after you buy it

Take the puppy to a vet straight away and keep all documents, correspondence with the seller and receipts. Don't treat the puppy yourself or put off the visit: puppy farm puppies often have parvovirus and other infections that progress within days in small dogs. Tell the seller about the illness in writing. If you have reason to think you've been deceived, contact the police or consumer advice services and report the seller to an animal welfare organisation: tip-offs like these help investigations, as in the dachshund case.

Why a microchip is no guarantee

A microchip with a database record only proves that the number has been registered. The details are entered by a professional, and if they record a fictitious owner or the wrong age, the database won't notice. So when you buy a puppy it's important not only to check the number but also to make sure that the seller is the person named in the database and that the puppy really grew up where you're being shown it. If the seller can't show the registration document, or it names someone else, it's better to walk away, even if you've fallen for the puppy.

How to buy a puppy without supporting illegal breeding

Illegal breeders make money from fashionable breeds and from buyers in a hurry. A few simple rules help you tell an honest seller apart:

• See the puppy with its mother and where it was raised — not in a car park, a shopping centre or "delivered to your door".
• Age. In France a puppy cannot be sold or given away before eight weeks, and in England licensed sellers must not sell puppies under eight weeks either. A puppy that is too young is a warning sign.
• Microchip before sale. The puppy must be identified before it is sold. In England the breeder must be recorded as the first keeper; in France ask for the I-CAD registration card, which should name the seller as owner.
• Paperwork. On sale, the buyer should receive proof of identification, a vet's health certificate and a contract or handover document.
• The advert. In France an advert must state the puppy's age, identification number and price, and breeders must give their registration number. In England, Lucy's Law means puppies must be bought directly from the breeder, not from a third-party dealer.
• A puppy from abroad. If a puppy is brought in from another country, it must be vaccinated against rabies, no earlier than 12 weeks of age, followed by a 21-day wait. So such a puppy must be at least 15 weeks old — an "imported" puppy younger than that has almost certainly been brought in illegally.
• Price. A price that's too low for a fashionable breed is a warning sign, but a high price doesn't guarantee honesty either: in this case the puppies sold for around €1,200.
• Don't buy out of pity. Wanting to "rescue" a puppy from poor conditions is understandable, but the money supports those who created them. It's better to report such sellers to the police or an animal welfare organisation.

What is changing in the EU

Online puppy sales and illegal imports of animals are among the reasons the EU adopted its first common regulation on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats in 2026. It introduces uniform requirements for breeders, sellers, shelters and online platforms, and compulsory identification and registration of animals in national databases. For breeders and sellers, the rules will apply from 2030.

France is introducing another change from 1 January 2027: to obtain a European pet passport for a dog, cat or ferret, owners will need proof of address no older than three months. This should make it harder to issue papers in the names of fictitious owners.