Many of the dogs that are offered on European classified ad platforms come from puppy farms, also sometimes called puppy factories, puppy mills or breeding stations. Such facilities can be located anywhere in Europe, but investigations show that many are located in Eastern European countries, such as Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary, and supplied to buyers in Western Europe where demand for cute, young, puppies is high.   We are often asked how big a facility needs to be before it is considered a puppy farm. But puppy farming is a term applied to facilities based on their operating methods and welfare standards, rather than rate of production. A reputable, licensed breeder - motivated by animal welfare and love for a particular breed - could breed 3 litters a year and offer the best standards of care possible. A puppy farmer, however, could breed the same number of litters in cruel conditions. They can be backyard operations, or large scale ‘industrial’ businesses breeding hundreds of pups per year. It is more about quality of care, than quantity of animals.  Puppies are usually moved from puppy farms to third-party sellers, where puppy dealers either pose as breeders, or offer them to the public via outlets. Sometimes these places come in the form of a pet shop, but these are becoming less common in Europe. They are sometimes recognisable by the large number of puppies and multiple breeds available on site.