Effective date: 22 August 2026
1.1 These Pet Marketplace Rules apply to everyone who lists, offers, sells, buys, rehomes or adopts anything through Wow Pets Palace.
1.2 They cover two kinds of user listing, and the rules differ between them:
| Listing type | What it is | Governed by |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Sale Listings | An animal offered in exchange for money or other value | §§4, 5, 6, 7, 9 - strictest requirements |
| Adoption Listings | An animal offered for rehoming with no fee or other value passing | §§4, 5, 6, 10 |
1.2.1 Products are not user listings. Wow Pets Palace sells every product on the Platform - food, accessories, equipment and trackers. Other users cannot list products. Products are governed by the Terms and Conditions and the Refund and Returns Policy, not by these Rules.
1.2.2 Pet sitting services are offered by users and are governed by the Terms and Conditions, section 7.
1.3 The distinction between an Animal Sale Listing and an Adoption Listing is decided by whether value passes, not by what you call it. See §10.2.
1.4 Breaking these Rules can result in listing removal, restrictions, suspension or permanent termination, and in serious cases we will report the matter to the authorities.
2.1 Wow Pets Palace plays two different roles, and it matters which one applies.
2.1.1 We are the seller of every product on the Platform. Those sales are between you and us, and these Rules do not govern them - the Terms and Conditions and the Refund and Returns Policy do.
2.1.2 For animals and pet sitting, we are the marketplace. We are not the seller of anything listed by another user.
2.2 When you acquire an animal or book a pet sitter through the Platform, your contract is with that user, not with us.
2.3 We do not own, inspect, house, examine, transport or take custody of any animal listed by a user. We do not meet sellers. We do not visit premises. We do not examine animals.
2.4 We do not verify the accuracy of listings beyond the limited checks described in §3.4.
2.5 None of this removes any responsibility we have under the law that applies to you as an operator of an online marketplace. See Part C §5.3.
To create any listing you must:
3.2.1 When you first list an animal, you must tell us whether you are acting as a Trader - for purposes relating to your trade, business, craft or profession - or as a private seller.
3.2.2 This matters, and you must answer honestly. It determines what consumer rights buyers have against you, what information you must display, and what legal obligations you carry.
3.2.3 You are likely to be a Trader if you: sell animals regularly or in volume; breed in order to sell; sell for profit; hold a licence to sell animals; or present yourself as a business.
3.2.4 We display your Trader status on every listing. Where a seller is not a Trader, we tell buyers that consumer protection law does not apply to their transaction.
3.2.5 Declaring yourself a private seller when you are in fact a Trader is a serious breach of these Rules and may also breach consumer protection law in your country. We may reclassify accounts where the evidence indicates trading activity.
If you are a Trader you must also provide, and we will display:
3.4.1 All sellers are verified by email confirmation, and where provided, phone confirmation.
3.4.2 Sellers and Pet Sitters are additionally asked to provide identity documents, which we review before their listing goes live. We are not a document verification service - we check that documents appear consistent with the account details. We do not use forensic authentication and we cannot guarantee a document is genuine.
3.4.3 A "verified" indicator does not mean we have checked: criminal records; identity documents, unless stated; qualifications; licences, unless stated; ownership of any animal; the health, age, breed or history of any animal; premises; or the truth of anything a seller says.
3.4.4 Buyers must satisfy themselves. §12 sets out how.
Every listing must be accurate, complete and not misleading. You must not:
4.2.1 Photographs must be of the actual animal, recent, and clear.
4.2.2 Photographs must not be edited to conceal a condition, injury, or physical characteristic.
4.2.3 For puppies and kittens, we strongly recommend including a photograph with the mother, and in some markets this may be required.
4.2.4 Do not include identifiable people, particularly children, in listing photographs.
4.3.1 Prices must be accurate, complete and include all mandatory charges. Delivery and any other charges must be shown clearly before a buyer commits.
4.3.2 No hidden fees, bait pricing, or prices that change after the buyer commits.
4.3.3 If you display a reference or "was" price, it must be genuine and comply with price-indication law where your buyers are.
4.3.4 4.3.4 Where we show a price reduction, the previous price we compare against is the lowest price we charged for that item in the 30 days before the reduction.
You must not list:
4.5.1 You must not use listings or messages to move a transaction off the Platform in order to avoid our fees or our rules.
4.5.2 This does not apply to payment for an animal, which does not currently pass through the Platform in any event (§9.1).
5.1.1 Laws on selling, transferring, breeding, keeping, importing and exporting animals vary enormously between countries and often between regions of a country. An animal that may lawfully be sold in one place may not be in another. Many sales require a licence. Many require the animal to be identified and registered before it changes hands.
5.1.2 We make no representation that any animal transaction is lawful anywhere. You must establish and comply with the law that applies to you and to your buyer.
5.1.3 We may refuse, remove or restrict any animal listing at our discretion, including where we are not satisfied it complies.
5.2.1 Every animal listed must be, and must have been, kept in conditions meeting its welfare needs: a suitable environment; a suitable diet; the ability to exhibit normal behaviour patterns; appropriate housing with or apart from other animals; and protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
5.2.2 You must not list an animal that is: sick or injured without disclosure and appropriate veterinary care; too young to be separated from its mother; pregnant, where this is concealed; or in distress.
5.2.3 Minimum separation age. Puppies and kittens must not be sold, offered or transferred before the minimum age permitted by law where they are, and in no event before 8 weeks of age. In many jurisdictions the buyer must also see the animal with its mother before purchase.
5.2.4 You must not breed, or offer animals bred, in a way that causes or is likely to cause suffering, including breeding for extreme conformational traits that harm health.
5.2.5 Repeated or high-volume litters from the same animal, or evidence consistent with unlicensed high-volume breeding, will result in removal and may be reported.
You must disclose, in the listing:
5.3.1 Concealing a known health or behavioural problem is one of the most serious breaches of these Rules. It causes real harm to animals and to buyers, and it may be a criminal offence. It will result in permanent termination.
5.4.1 You must own the animal or have the owner's express authority to transfer it.
5.4.2 You must not list a stolen animal, a found animal you do not own, or an animal subject to a dispute.
5.4.3 Found an animal? Do not list it for sale or adoption. Report it to local authorities, scan for a microchip at a veterinary practice, and contact local shelters. It has an owner looking for it.
5.5.1 We do not arrange, provide, broker or facilitate the transport or shipping of live animals.
5.5.2 Any transport is arranged privately between the parties, at their own risk, and must comply with applicable animal transport, health and border law.
5.5.3 We strongly discourage long-distance and cross-border animal transactions. They are the transactions most associated with fraud, disease transmission, illegal importation and welfare harm.
5.5.4 We strongly recommend that buyers see the animal in person, at the place it is kept, before agreeing to anything.
Different countries require different information to appear in an advertisement for an animal. This section sets out what you must provide. We may refuse to publish a listing without it.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Structured | - |
| Breed, or "mixed"/"unknown" | Structured | No guessing at breed |
| Sex | Structured | - |
| Date of birth, or best estimate | Date | Flag estimates as estimates |
| Country of birth | Structured | - |
| Current location (country and region) | Structured | - |
| Vaccination status and dates | Structured | - |
| Neutered / spayed status | Structured | - |
| Health disclosures | Structured + free text | §5.3 |
| Seller Trader status | Structured | §3.2 |
| Photographs of the actual animal | Media | §4.2 |
| Jurisdiction | Additional mandatory information | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU/EEA - dogs and cats | Individual identification (microchip) number; registration details; verifiable identification information in the advertisement; link to the EU verification system; responsible-ownership information to the buyer | ADOPTED, NOT YET APPLICABLE - application expected approx. 2 years after entry into force, phased | Regulation on welfare and traceability of dogs and cats, adopted EP 28 Apr 2026 / Council 22 May 2026. |
| UK (England) - commercial sellers | Seller's licence number; country of origin/residence of the animal; the animal's age | IN FORCE | Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 - Schedule 3, provisional, requires verification |
| UK - dogs and cats generally | Microchipping is compulsory before transfer; dogs and, since 2024, cats | IN FORCE - requires verification of current scope | |
| Ireland | Seller registration number; microchip number; the animal's age | IN FORCE - provisional | |
| Belgium | Breeder/seller approval number; microchip number in the advertisement | IN FORCE - provisional | |
| France | Prescribed mentions in pet advertisements; pet ads must be separated from other goods; identification number | IN FORCE - provisional | |
| Albania | [TO BE COMPLETED BY ALBANIAN COUNSEL] | - |
| Field | Type | Required when | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
species | enum | Always | Against controlled list |
breed | enum + "mixed" + "unknown" | Always | Controlled list |
sex | enum | Always | - |
date_of_birth | date | Always | Not future; flag if estimate |
dob_is_estimate | bool | Always | - |
country_of_birth | ISO 3166 | Always | - |
current_country | ISO 3166 | Always | - |
identification_number | string | Dogs/cats in EU, UK, IE, BE, FR; recommended everywhere | Format check by country; checksum where available |
identification_type | enum (microchip / tattoo / other) | Where identification provided | - |
registration_database | string | Where identification provided | - |
registration_verified | enum (verified / unverified / failed) | System-set | Populated by verification service when available |
seller_licence_number | string | Traders where required by jurisdiction | Format check by country |
seller_licence_authority | string | Where licence provided | - |
usda_licence_number | string | US sellers of dogs, sight-unseen, >4 breeding females | Format check |
usda_attestation | enum | All US animal listings | Self-declaration + logged |
trader_status | enum (trader / private) | Always | Drives consumer-rights notice |
vaccination_records | structured array | Always | Type + date |
neutered | bool | Always | - |
health_disclosures | structured + free text | Always | Required, may be "none known" |
aggression_history | bool + free text | Always | Explicit yes/no, not optional |
previously_rehomed | bool + free text | Always | - |
mother_present_photo | media | Puppies/kittens - required in some markets | - |
price / is_adoption | decimal / bool | Always | See §10.2 |
rehoming_fee | decimal | Adoption listings | If > 0, reclassify as sale |
6.4.1 Fields must be conditionally required by the seller's country and the buyer-visible market, not globally mandatory, so that a listing in a market with no such requirement is not blocked unnecessarily.
6.4.2 Where a field is required and missing, the listing must not publish.
6.4.3 registration_verified should default to unverified and be capable of being set by an external verification service without schema change, so the EU verification link can be integrated when it exists.
You must not list:
7.1.1 At launch, animal listings are limited to dogs, cats and a defined list of common companion animals. Species outside that list may not be listed. We maintain the list and update it as we extend into new markets. It should combine: CITES appendices; the EU Invasive Alien Species list; national exotic-pet restrictions; state and local US restrictions; and breed-specific legislation. This does not currently exist and is a launch blocker for exotic listings. Until it exists, we recommend restricting animal listings to dogs, cats and a defined list of common companion animals.
7.2.1 Users cannot list products for sale (§1.2.1). But you must not attempt to offer, advertise or arrange the sale of any of the items below through an animal listing, an adoption listing, your profile, or messaging.
7.2.2 These items are also not stocked or sold by Wow Pets Palace:
You must not list, publish or link to anything that promotes, facilitates, instructs in, glorifies or normalises: animal cruelty, abuse or neglect; animal fighting or baiting; illegal breeding; illegal wildlife trade; or the mistreatment of any animal.
You must not offer, through the Platform: veterinary services or advice, unless a licensed veterinarian lawfully practising where the service is provided; euthanasia services; ear cropping, tail docking, declawing or other prohibited mutilations; unlicensed breeding services; unlicensed boarding or kennelling; or animal transport, which is outside the Platform (§5.5).
Treat all of these as reasons to stop:
8.2.1 Never send money for an animal you have not seen in person. This is the single most common way people are defrauded on pet marketplaces.
Buyers must: provide accurate information; not misrepresent their intentions; not acquire animals for any prohibited purpose (§7.1); care for the animal properly; and comply with applicable law.
9.1.1 We do not process payment for any animal. Payment is arranged directly between buyer and seller, outside the Platform.
9.1.2 We charge for our own services - listing, promotion, subscriptions - where stated. Any such fee is for our service and is not a commission on the price of an animal.
9.1.3 Because payment is off-Platform, we cannot refund it, reverse it, or intervene in a payment dispute about an animal. §8.2.1 exists for this reason.
9.2.1 Wow Pets Palace sells every product on the Platform, so payment for products is taken by us at checkout through our payment providers, and we issue any product refund. Users cannot sell products here, and must not use animal or adoption listings to offer goods.
9.2.2 Users must not ask buyers to pay outside the agreed method, ask for payment by irreversible means such as gift cards or cryptocurrency, or ask for payment before an agreed milestone.
9.3.1 We dispatch our products within the stated timeframe and communicate delays. Delivery terms are in the Terms and Conditions, section 11.5.
9.3.2 We do not arrange, provide or facilitate the transport of live animals (§5.5).
9.4.1 Returns and refunds are governed by the Refund and Returns Policy (Part H).
9.4.2 In outline:
| What you bought | Who you bought from | Buyer's rights |
|---|---|---|
| Any product | Wow Pets Palace | Full statutory rights against us, plus our own returns policy. We handle every product return |
| An animal, from a Trader | That seller | Statutory consumer rights against that seller - but see §9.4.4 on how they apply to a live animal |
| An animal, from a private seller | That seller | Consumer protection law does not apply. Very limited rights, generally only where the animal was misdescribed |
9.4.3 Traders selling animals must honour whatever statutory consumer rights apply to them. Refusing to do so is a breach of these Rules and of the law, and will result in enforcement action.
9.4.4 Animals. Distance-selling cancellation rights are generally not a workable mechanism for live animals, and in most cases we do not facilitate the "return" of an animal. Where an animal was misdescribed or its health concealed, the buyer may have legal remedies against the seller, and should take advice. Sellers should have a clear position on what happens if a transaction does not work out, stated in the listing.
An Adoption Listing offers an animal for rehoming where no money, fee, donation or other value is required or expected in exchange.
10.2.1 If any value passes, it is a sale. This includes a "rehoming fee", an "adoption fee", a "donation", a "contribution to costs", a payment for supplies or transport that exceeds actual cost, or any other benefit.
10.2.2 Where value passes, the listing is treated as an Animal Sale Listing and every requirement in §§5, 6, 7 and 9 applies.
10.2.3 We may recategorise or remove any Adoption Listing we reasonably consider to be a disguised sale, and repeated attempts to use the adoption category to avoid the sale rules will result in termination.
Drafting rationale. Adoption must not become a compliance bypass. If "adoption with a €400 rehoming fee" avoided the traceability, licensing and disclosure requirements that apply to a €400 sale, every seller would use it, and the marketplace rules would be worthless within weeks.
Even with no fee, you must:
10.4.1 Free-to-good-home listings carry real risk. Animals offered free are targeted by people seeking animals for fighting, baiting, breeding and resale.
10.4.2 We therefore require adopters to hold a verified account, and strongly recommend that you: meet the adopter; ask why they want the animal; ask about their circumstances and other animals; where appropriate visit their home; and keep a record of who took the animal.
10.4.3 We may restrict or remove free listings that appear to present a risk to the animal.
10.5.1 Shelters and rescues may list animals subject to these Rules.
10.5.2 We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with any shelter or rescue organisation, and listing on the Platform does not imply any relationship, accreditation or endorsement.
10.5.3 Organisations must not represent themselves as affiliated with, verified by or endorsed by Wow Pets Palace.
10.5.4 Adopters should verify an organisation's registration and standing independently.
11.2.1 Reviews must come from genuine experience of the transaction.
11.2.2 We do not remove genuine negative reviews because they are negative. Sellers who pressure buyers over reviews will face enforcement action.
11.2.3 How we make sure reviews are genuine. Reviews can only be left for orders that have been delivered. Each review is tied to a completed, delivered order in our records. We do not publish unverified reviews.
11.3.1 Report any listing, message, user or transaction using the reporting tools, or contact report@wowpetspalace.com.
11.3.2 Report separately to the authorities where you suspect: animal cruelty; theft; fraud; illegal wildlife trade; or unlicensed commercial breeding. We are not a substitute for law enforcement or animal welfare authorities.
11.3.3 We treat reports of animal cruelty, animals in immediate danger, and risk to a person as urgent.
Depending on severity and history, we may: ask for more information; require a listing to be edited; remove a listing; restrict features; limit listing volume; suspend an account; permanently terminate an account; withhold amounts owed pending investigation; and report to the authorities.
We act immediately, without prior warning, where there is: a risk to an animal's life or welfare; a risk to a person's safety; suspected animal cruelty; suspected illegal wildlife trade; suspected theft; serious fraud; or a legal requirement.
12.3.1 We will tell you what we did and why, unless we are prevented by law or where telling you would compromise the prevention or investigation of crime.
12.3.2 You may challenge a decision at appeals@wowpetspalace.com. We will review and tell you the outcome.
12.3.3 EU users have additional rights under the Digital Services Act - see Part C, Annex A.
| Breach | First instance | Repeat |
|---|---|---|
| Incomplete or inaccurate listing | Edit required | Listing removed |
| Missing mandatory jurisdiction field | Listing blocked until provided | Restriction |
| Misleading description | Removal + warning | Suspension |
| Undisclosed health or behavioural issue | Removal + suspension | Permanent termination |
| Trader posing as private seller | Reclassification + warning | Suspension |
| Prohibited species | Removal + suspension | Permanent termination + report |
| Underage animal | Removal + suspension | Permanent termination + report |
| Animal cruelty content | Immediate permanent termination + report | - |
| Suspected stolen animal | Immediate suspension + report | - |
| Fraud | Immediate permanent termination + report | - |
| Review manipulation | Removal + warning | Suspension |
| Ban evasion | Immediate permanent termination | - |
13.1 Disputes about a transaction are primarily between buyer and seller. Contact each other first - most problems are misunderstandings.
13.2 We may assist but we are not an arbitrator and we do not decide who is right.
13.3 Where we operate a dispute process, it is described at support@wowpetspalace.com. Using it does not affect your legal rights.
13.4 Because we do not handle payment for animals, we cannot reverse or refund an animal payment (§9.1.3).
13.5 Consumers keep all statutory rights and may pursue them independently of anything we do.
14.1 We may change these Rules. Material changes take effect on 30 days' notice.
14.2 Where a change is required by law, it may take effect sooner, and we will explain why.
14.3 Changes do not apply retroactively to completed transactions.
Marketplace support: marketing@wowpetspalace.com Reporting: report@wowpetspalace.com Appeals: appeals@wowpetspalace.com Legal: legal@wowpetspalace.com