About us

About Us

FurDopt (www.FurDopt.com) is the UK’s largest online pet marketplace, relied upon by up to 7 million people monthly, and helps rehome over 2,500 pets each day. Founded in 2005 and acquired by Pet Media Group in August 2019, FurDopt prioritises responsible practices and works to ensure trust, safety, and convenience for buyers and sellers. Through its focus on safeguarding animal welfare (and ensuring a safe and efficient process for buyers and sellers), FurDopt has earned a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot (with over 9,000 reviews and counting!).

What We Do

For those looking to buy or adopt a dog, cat, horse, rabbit, fish, bird or reptile, the FurDopt community provides a safe environment in which to find their dream pet, alongside expert advice on animal health and veterinary care, tips on what to look for in a reputable breeder, and secure payment through the FurDopt Pet Payments service. FurDopt connects a high volume of serious buyers with responsible breeders and is also trusted by a number of leading UK animal shelters and charities.

Do We Check The Adverts Placed on Our Site?

Yes, we manually approve the majority of adverts that are placed on our FurDopt website in addition to applying other tools and safeguards (see below). We are confident that we operate the most stringent safeguarding policies of any site in the UK, however we are not an enforcement agency and cannot visit any of the advertisers homes, therefore, it is ultimately a buyer’s responsibility to make any necessary checks on the advertisers before buying or adopting a pet. To help prospective pet owners we provide thorough checklists to help ensure a potential pet’s wellbeing and a successful rehoming, as well as advice on the responsibilities of each buyer. We also benefit from - and are grateful for - an extra level of vigilance provided by our users who raise concerns about adverts, or report back to us after a visit to a seller which has proved unsatisfactory in some way. In the event of any concerns, however small, report them!

How Do We Uphold the Trust & Safety on FurDopt?

• Verification checks

  - FurDopt has a number of verification features within the platform. The platform requires licenced breeders to submit a copy of their licencing details and displays these publicly where relevant. Additionally, each seller is required to confirm their UK-based phone number, adding an additional layer of security on top of FurDopt’ own tools and manual moderation efforts.

• Animal welfare, regulations and advice

  - FurDopt has a zero tolerance approach to puppy farming and the unethical selling of animals. Adverts submitting for posting on FurDopt undergo automated review (with many being manually reviewed) to ensure that these adhere to our strict animal welfare standards, resulting in around 40% of submitted adverts being rejected and never going live. Unacceptable listings include: pets advertised as gifts or presents; puppies without a photo of the mother; pets imported for the purpose of being sold; sellers offering a delivery or courier service; ‘designer’ pets, amongst many other additional factors.

• FurDopt Pet Payments service

  - FurDopt has a zero tolerance approach to puppy farming and the unethical selling of animals. Adverts submitting for posting on FurDopt undergo automated review (with many being manually reviewed) to ensure that these adhere to our strict animal welfare standards, resulting in around 40% of submitted adverts being rejected and never going live. Unacceptable listings include: pets advertised as gifts or presents; puppies without a photo of the mother; pets imported for the purpose of being sold; sellers offering a delivery or courier service; ‘designer’ pets, amongst many other additional factors.

  This means greater peace of mind for buyers while the seller can easily build trust with new buyers. This service is free-of-charge for sellers, while buyers are charged a small fee.

• Community guidelines

  - With over 6,000 articles written by veterinarians, reputable breeders and experts, FurDopt offers advice to buyers and sellers on pet health, care, and behaviour. Additionally, FurDopt has full breed profiles and thorough rehoming checklists for each pet type, as well as a Trust & Safety portal.

In addition to our own Trust & Safety team, FurDopt offers an in-platform ‘report’ function, which is monitored around the clock, 7 days a week, by our Trust & Safety team. All reports are investigated, and FurDopt liaises with local councils and the RSPCA, to resolve potential concerns from the community. FurDopt also upholds the Animal Welfare Act, Lucy’s Law, PAAG’s minimum standards and is actively petitioning the Government to ban unethical importing of puppies, to prevent the abuse of animals and puppy farming.

Do you prevent puppy farmers or dodgy breeders abusing your site?

Yes, we do our utmost to prevent puppy farmers from trying to use our website. We do this by monitoring the number of adverts we allow each advertiser to place, and check an advertiser’s local authority breeders licenses to make sure they are valid. Just because a breeder has a valid council license to breed dogs, does not mean we will automatically allow them to use our service. If we believe someone to be a large commercial breeder and not looking after their dogs, we will prevent them from using our platform.

We also work closely with local councils and animal welfare organisations to prevent known puppy farmers from using our website. Our FurDopt.co.uk website was founded for pet owners, responsible hobby breeders and rescue centres, and we have zero tolerance approach to irresponsible individuals attempting to abuse our platform.

What kind of adverts do you not allow on the site?

We have a list of standards we have created that we stick to when approving or banning adverts. You can read them by clicking here. We also follow the Pet Advertising Advisory Groups (PAAGS's) minimum standards.

How can I can contact FurDopt.co.uk ?

You can contact us via email using our 'Contact Us' form.

Regards,

The FurDopt Team