E-bay might not allow the sale of live animals through their auction section but they do allow the sale of live animals through their Classified Section. Either way this is not ok. It was my understanding that E-bay would not allow the sale of any live animal on their site PERIOD. The fact that they are trying to get around this by allowing them to be listed in their classified section shows that they were trying to get around the complaints they have received from animals being sold auction style. They know that those of us who care about animals wouldn’t find when we go to their site looking for different things for our animals or collectibles with our animals on them (plates, stuffed toys, paintings etc) because it wouldn’t come up in our searches. Well the game is over and it is time to end the selling of Live Animals on your site for good.
Here is what E-Bay has to say about why they allow the Live Animal Classified Ads:
Free online classified ads have made it easier for animal lovers to find their perfect pet from local households, rescue shelters, and breeders.
Wow really? So now because people can find pets online E-bay has decided that they need a piece of the action as well? I don’t think so. They claim to have safe-guards in place to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals for sale but that is absolutely impossible. We all know it, they know it, and the people selling their animals this way know it as well. You can find everything from Mastiffs to Chihuahuas for sale on the site and everything in between there is no way E-bay can ensure the health and safety of all the animals listed. (I just did a search for dogs but there are cats for sale and a slew of other animals.)
They claim to safe guard the puppies and make sure they are not taken from their mothers too early. So E-bay you are visiting all these puppy sellers to make sure no puppies are sold and leave their mothers before 8 – 12 weeks old or are you leaving that to the discretion of the sellers? Are you making sure the sellers are socializing the puppies before they are sold or are you making sure the buyers meet the sellers before a transaction takes place. Or maybe you check in on the sellers at their homes and places of business on a yearly basis to make sure things are sanitary, the animals in their care of healthy and fit, and they can clearly identify each of their animals through MicroChip or tattoo to prove the age and name of each animal.
E-bay has the audacity to say that buyers need to know what they are purchasing. If they are purchasing their animal through E-bay they are not educated consumers who know what to look for in the first place. Its like having one of your sellers claim they are selling authentic Fabergé Tsar Imperial Easter eggs. Most people wouldn’t know what to look for in terms of authenticity and those that do wouldn’t buy it off of E-bay they would go to a Christie’s or Sotheby’s auction where they were authenticated and all the proper paperwork was produced to prove they are genuine. Same thing here. People who are educated about how to find a healthy puppy would never look at your site to find one they would think like I do that is is unacceptable that you are allowing this to occur.
By allowing the selling of live Animals on your site whether via auction which is despicable or through classified which is only a slight step up from there you are risking the lives and health of all the animals sold. Your rules say no Puppy Mills, puppy stores, middle men, or people selling the for the breeder do you really think these unethical people follow your rules or any rules in the first place?
NONE of the animals being sold on your site are being bred by Ethical Responsible Breeders who are making sure to have their breeding dogs tested for the genetic diseases so they don’t pass on truly awful but in most cases preventable diseases to the puppies which will not crop up right away but could take years to show themselves. You have people claiming they are selling AKC puppies at a premium but the puppy barely looks like the breed it is supposed to represent. You cannot and do not have the manpower to make sure people selling live animals are doing the right thing.
Who is going to be there for the 5 year old dog who can’t walk because its dysplasia is so bad it cries when it walks, or the 6 month old puppy that went blind. Who is going to be there when that puppy arrives at its new home with a tummy full of parasites or with a full blown case of distemper and now the entire family and their other pets have been exposed. What then? Will you take responsibility and pay the bills to treat the sick animals? The sellers are gone and aren’t coming back because they know they sold sick animals. Or their accounts have been inactive for 3 years and now the buyer says the animal is sick with something that could have been prevented.
Help me get the point across to E-bay to shut down the sale of Live Animals on their site.
Write a blog post and link up to show we have a strong voice and we will not allow it.
Write a tweet to tell E-bay it is not ok.
Dedicate your Facebook status to pass along the message to your friends.
If you don’t have a Blog here is the mailing address for E-bay
The mailing address for e-Bay is: e-Bay, Inc, 2145 Hamilton Ave, San Jose, California 95125
Link up your post to show how loud we can be!
I had no idea that you could sell animals on ebay! That is terrible. I am linking you post to my facebook page.
Geez, I just went and took a look. So many puppies and older dogs too… and cats and rabbits, etc. And people with “breed” dogs without papers. Makes you wonder how it's even remotely possible for all these lovely animals to find homes. Sigh. Thanks for sharing.
Diane and Cosmo
fanks for letting us nose! xoxo
I will absolutely be posting about this – I have been following them on twitter, and I have been SHOCKED at the 1000's of animals they are allowing to be sold (by some very sketchy-seeming-backyard-breeders). Thanks for drawing attention to this 🙂
Good Lord! I did not know that live animal sales were on ebay, even if it is the classified section! Thanks for posting this, I'll tweet it around.
This has got to stop!!!!! A post about this on my page is coming right up!!!
[email protected]
Wow! Thanks, Felissa, for bringing this to light. I had no idea and I bet a lot of others don't either. I'll definitely be posting about this on my blog! And tweeting and facebooking as well. Let's put our voices together and force Ebay out of the live pet sales business.
An idea … set up a Change.org petition about this. We're supporting one, asking Petsmart to stop selling shock collars.
Thank you Felissa for letting us know about this!! Bloggers and others unite!!
Michele aka MikiHope
http://www.mikishope.com
this was a great blog. and ebay responded to a friend of mine that sent them an email… here is what they replied:
We understand your reservations around the sale and re-homing of animals on our site, Andrea. We certainly respect the opinions of our community and appreciate the feedback.
eBay Classifieds, inherently local…, offers a more responsible way of finding a new pet given the in-person meeting opportunities.
We do not condone the unethical treatment of animals and in accordance with many state laws, prohibits the sale of puppies or kittens under 8 weeks old.
We have also taken measures to educate our community about responsible pet ownership, breeding, re-homing and selling through a partnership with the Humane Society of the United States.
It’s through that partnership that we’ve been able to identify and block irresponsible breeders from our site. For more information please go to:
http://info.ebayclassifieds.com/About_us/responsiblepetownership.html?mpch=ads
We listen very closely to our community for any reports of any unhealthy animals being sold by our users. Should a user violate eBay Classifieds pet policies, they may be suspended and potentially banned from the site.
Additionally, through an arrangement with Petfinder, nearly 2/3 of the pets listed on eBay Classifieds are from shelters.
For additional information about our pet policies, please go to:
http://info.ebayclassifieds.com/helpcenter/index.php?article=82
We hope our site can be used to find forever homes for animals in all situations.
Again we thank you for your feedback.
Thanks,
Jasmine
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebayclassifieds.com%2F&h=4adb8See More
Yesterday at 9:24am · LikeUnlike.
Terrible! I had no idea this was going on. Will definitely share this on Twitter. Thanks for drawing attention to this awful practice.
Hi, I am stumbiling on you from http://www.madamedeals.com
I came over from On Hollyhock Farm, I'm shocked that Ebay allows pets to be sold.
Stumbled you…important post! I was not aware of this!
Kristin 🙂
Keenly Kristin
I want to personally thank you for bringing this to our attention. As the owner of a puppy mill breeding dog, I am adamantly opposed to E-Bay selling puppies on their site, classified or not. This is absolutely unacceptable. I will be posting on this and passing it on to others.
This is just another way for puppy mills to get around the public outcry against them. Ugh!
Wow…what will be next….this is awful. I signed and am telling my teams about it!
Felissa, thank you so much for drawing attention to this travesty. I signed the petition and will retweet this post.
I had no idea! Thanks for bringing this to light for so many of us. And those 'pups without papers' ads…no papers often because the breeder checked the 'not for breeding' box and because they weren't altered before they left the kennel…they are being bred. Sad.
I thought ebay was against live animal sales, but I guess that's just on their main ebay venue. What a bunch of sneaky SOBs to bring it in the back door when we weren't looking. I will blog on this and responsible breeders. This has to stop. (As if Craigslist wasn't bad enough!!!)
I see absolutely no problem. It is the same as prohibiting cars from being sold, just because they can kill people.
Some people know how to drive responsibly and some people don’t.
By the way, where did you get you “two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels” from? Maybe the breeder has as respectful kennel and it found on Ebay a way to sell their dogs (breeders live from that). Think a bit more! Think about thousands of people that live remote and cannot (or do not have the opportunity) to find good kennels near their home. They need to search it somehow and they use the internet to get in contact
Sorry there is nothing wrong with Ebay. The problem is all about the people.
A bad breeder can still be bad if it is not announcing on Ebay. And still Ebay is
providing ways to denounce bad breeders.
That is the most ridiculous statement.
Live animals do not belong on E-bay. I don’t care if you are selling hamsters, dogs, horses, or mice. There are other places around the web that you can advertise where people go specifically to look for a new pet or farm animal.
It is laughable that you think the person who bred my dogs would advertise on Ebay. Anyone looking for a dog through Ebay would never pass her pre-screening you have to go through before she allows you to visit her dogs. I am sorry but no good kennel would ever use ebay to advertise that they have a dog available for a home. Only people that are looking to make money from breeding their animals would post advertisements on Ebay. A reputable ethical breeder does not breed to make money off of their dogs and generally have a waiting list of people hoping to get a puppy from them.