Terms of service

Last updated: 1 August 2026

1. Marketplace facilitator

GenoVaq Ltd (“GenoVaq”), registered in England and Wales with company number 16998945, operates an online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of canine and equine breeding genetics. GenoVaq is a marketplace facilitator. It is not a party to transactions between buyers and sellers, and it is not a veterinary or clinical service provider.

2. Fees

GenoVaq charges a 10% commission on the gross transaction value of a completed sale, deducted from the seller's payout via Stripe Connect. Featured listings and advertising are charged separately.

Rare and heritage breeds are exempt. Listings in the rare and heritage section carry no listing fee and no commission. This is not a promotional period and we will not introduce one later; it is a standing term of these conditions.

3. Enquiry-only listings and the right to decline

A stud is not a stock item. Sellers may list on an enquiry-only basis, where no price is advertised and no order can be placed until the seller has agreed to the mating.

Where a listing does take direct orders, the seller may decline any order before it is fulfilled, without giving a reason. A declined order is refunded to the buyer in full and no commission is charged. Buyers may likewise withdraw before fulfilment.

This exists because the alternative — a button that takes a buyer's money for a mating the owner of the animal has not agreed to — would be wrong in a way no refund policy fixes.

4. Seller obligations

Sellers must complete identity verification, list accurately, hold all required veterinary certification, comply with import and export rules in the destination jurisdiction, and fulfil within the time agreed with the buyer.

5. Buyer obligations

Buyers are responsible for confirming that the proposed transaction is lawful where they are, for meeting import requirements, and for taking independent veterinary advice before use.

6. Prohibited content and conduct

Listings must accurately describe what is offered. Misrepresentation, undisclosed health problems, and anything that breaches animal welfare law are prohibited and are grounds for suspension. Using the messaging service to harass, defraud, or to arrange anything unlawful is likewise prohibited.

7. Messaging

The messaging service exists so buyers and sellers can arrange a mating. Messages sent through it are private between the two of you, and GenoVaq does not routinely read, scan or monitor them. There is no automated keyword scanning and no browse-all view of conversations in our administrative tools.

Keeping the conversation on the platform is in your own interest: an arrangement made by text message or over the phone leaves no record we can look at if it later goes wrong.

8. When we may read a conversation

GenoVaq may access messages between two users in the following circumstances, and no others:

1. A dispute has been opened on an order between those two users;
2. A welfare concern has been raised about an animal connected to the listing;
3. We are required to by law, court order, or a lawful request from a body with statutory enforcement powers.

Where we do, access is limited as follows:

• to messages between the two people involved in the case, about the listing the case concerns;
• to a date window beginning 30 days before the order and ending when the case is closed;
• to a member of staff who has recorded, in writing and in advance, why they need to look.

Every access is logged, and you may ask us for the log entries that concern you. The lawful basis, the retention periods, and your right to object are set out in the privacy notice. Nothing in this clause is a substitute for that basis: agreeing to these terms is not you consenting to your messages being read.

Where we believe an offence has been committed against an animal or against a user, we may pass the relevant part of a conversation to the police, a local authority, or another body with statutory enforcement powers.

9. Disputes

Buyers may open a dispute within 14 days of expected delivery. GenoVaq will review it and resolve in favour of the appropriate party; outcomes include refund to the buyer or release of funds to the seller. Opening a dispute is what unlocks the review described in clause 8, and both parties are told when it happens.

10. Reporting

Anyone can report a listing, a user, or a welfare concern to info@genovaq.co.uk. We will look at it. We will not pass your name to the person you have reported without asking you first.

11. Suspension

We may suspend or remove an account where these terms have been breached. Where we do, we will tell you why, unless telling you would prejudice a live investigation by an enforcement authority.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.