Online Animal Sales Regulations: Have to be passed by Congress
Unfortunately, there are no guardrails, monitoring mechanisms, or restrictions in place to prevent abuse of this system.
Social media platforms are failing to protect communities from greedy individuals who produce animals and sell them online. These platforms not only facilitate the dissemination of poor animals but also their algorithms inadvertently promote these sellers. Despite Facebook’s claim of not allowing sales, sellers skillfully utilize the platform to increase exposure to a large audience, highlighting a concerning gap in oversight and regulation.
Unauthorized sellers ( individuals) and online groups/communities naming themselves as “Puppies rehoming, adoption or even rescue” services are often run by individuals who conceal their identity. They have neither Rescue affiliations nor Authorized Breeders/Sellers credentials, their Facebook profiles are typically blank (contain minimum information). These groups manage large online communities with thousands of members, often in private settings, on closed Facebook pages. These communities are typically breed specific. One can search for such groups(pages), for example by typing : “puppies near me for adoption, rehoming” – Facebook will display hundreds of such pages and communities.
As a result, animals are offered for sale without proper safeguards in place, such as:
Seller’s Identification, Business ID /Tax ID, possible AKC affiliation status. The animals are bred and sold with lack of basic health considerations, vaccination, spaying/neutering, or microchipping. Irresponsible online sellers fail to assess buyers’ living conditions or their ability to provide adequate care and stability for the animals they purchase.
The dogs coming from these breeders are the ones you are seeing dumped or abandoned at the animal shelter: Not Microchipped, Not spayed or neutered, Unvaccinated and often in poor health.
The purchased online animals often end up dumped on the streets, at shelters or rescues only a few months after being purchased. Streets, shelters and rescues are filled with young animals and more keep coming. Online buyers often don’t consider the long-term commitment required for pet ownership; instead, their decision is based on the emotional appeal of acquiring a cute puppy.
This lack of oversight poses serious risks to animal welfare, greatly contributes to an animal overpopulation crisis and highlights the urgent need for regulation in the online pet trade.
Example of a Search : “puppies for adoption near me”:
There have to be solutions. As part of adequate response to the Animal overproduction crisis,
It is important that we find ways to address the animal overproduction crisis, particularly in the realm of illegal online animal sales. State legislators and the government must take decisive actions to implement systemic responses to curb these problems. By enacting online animals sales regulations and enforcement measures, we can protect animals from exploitation and ensure responsible breeding and selling practices.
We need Clear laws and guidelines for social media:
- Social media companies need to Stop providing platforms for illegal Animals Sales
- Establish Legitimacy Verification Protocols on their platforms
- Platforms should require proof of proper registration of all breeders/sellers that include contact details such as full address, status (hobby/commercial) and official registration number ( Business/Tax ID, Licensing information)
- Animal Rescue organizations are already Required to provide full Registration Packages to Facebook. The same requirements should be applied across all of the ‘puppy Adoption and Rehoming’ pages on social platforms.
- If the Page claims to be a “Rescue’ – a proof of Affiliation with a Rescue should be required
- Animal Rehoming Groups and Communities should be ‘public’ and not be ‘closed” ( membership only)
- Online platforms, competent authorities and law enforcement should collaborate closely on developing enforcement standards to protect our society from harmful animal trade.
Implementing regulations specifically targeting social media platforms along with stricter breeders regulations plays a crucial role in reducing the influx of unwanted animals inundating our rescue and shelter systems.
By imposing guidelines and restrictions on the sales of pets through social media channels, we can stem the tide of irresponsible breeding and impulse purchases that contribute to the overpopulation crisis.
There are multiple initiatives in the European Union working to address the growth of online illegal pets trade. California should also start working towards a systematic approach in this area.
Please, contact your legislator to introduce this important legislation.
Some working examples from across the world:
UK: online Standards: https://paag.org.uk/selling-a-pet/
Seek clearer guidelines on social media platforms to prevent unauthorized animal sales.
Currently Social Media Platforms (facebook, Instagram, Craigslist) are full of animal sales disguised as “Adoptions of puppies’.
Animal organizations continue to struggle with over-capacity status and urgently need community support to hold not only backyard breeders accountable, but also require social media platforms to be held accountable, preventing dissemination of illegal animal sales through their platforms.
Social Media Sellers Ban, Online Sales Regulations Have to be passed by Congress
Social Media platforms have become an open playground for backyard breeders. With social media integrated into our daily lives, the large majority of animals from illegal breeders, including litters of puppies and kittens, are being sold through online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Craigslist.
News on this topic:
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