Taken from the spring Catchat newsletter -
http://www.catchat.org/newsletters/2009_spring.pdfOur hearts sink every time we see these words. Unfortunately for the animals being offered, this type of advert is
all too common, particularly in kitten season, when owners have ‘forgotten’ or simply not bothered to have their cat
neutered, and then find themselves with a litter of kittens that they need to find homes for. Newspapers and some
classified websites often include a “pets for sale” section in all good faith that people will be offering friendly, healthy
pets which will end up in caring, loving homes. But in far too many cases this isn’t what happens...
“Free to a Good Home”Of course, some of the animals given away like this will be lucky and end up in caring homes for the rest of their
life. But many won’t. We are contacted quite often by people asking ‘where can I get a free kitten?’ Giving an animal
away for free invites the ‘on a whim’ adopters, who may well not have considered expenses such as vet bills and/or
pet insurance, vaccinations, flea and worming treatments, cattery fees, etc. Often they lose interest in the pet later
(especially when a kitten or puppy grows up!) or they will give up on them if they become too expensive. When this
happens, all too often the pets are given up to a rescue centre, or abandoned... or worse.
“Pets for Sale”These sorts of classified sections invite all sorts of problems – and the animals are the ones who suffer. In most
cases, there will be no home check or matching procedure carried out to assess the suitability of pet to home,
which often results in a rescue centre having to pick up the pieces later. People sometimes use Classifieds (particularly
on the web) to ‘offload’ animals who may have health or behavioural problems, and there will be no back-up
or support later. Classified ads are often used by ‘backyard breeders’ or kitten/puppy mills. We have also heard, all
too often, of kittens and puppies being sold at under 8 weeks old, which can lead to both health and behavioural
problems. A particular problem with website classifieds is that the buyer may be from many miles away, hence the
poor animal is subject to long distance travel.
So what’s the GOOD NEWS then, we hear you ask? Well there is some... after consulting Cat Chat on this subject,
one classified ads website, PoundAd (
www.poundad.co.uk), has adopted a “No Pet Classified” policy and has even
included a page on their website, giving the reasons why they don’t allow pet trades. So hooray for PoundAd! We
hope that other classified websites may follow their lead.
Say no to Pet Classified Ads –
please don’t perpetuate this method of trading animals. Whether you are wanting to
adopt or need to rehome a pet, it’s far better to contact your local rescue. Please don’t risk the Classifieds!
