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Ebay Classifieds: Stop Selling Live Animals
  1. Signatures
    125,199 out of 150,000
    Petitioning
    1. SVP, Corporate Communications (+ 4 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • SVP, Corporate Communications (Alan Marks)
      • Chief Corporate Blogger (Richard Brewer-Hay)
      • General Manager, eBay Classifieds (Jacob Aqraou)
      • General Manager, eBay Classifieds (Deepak Thomas)
      • CEO (John Donahoe)
  2. Created By
    Stephanie Feldstein
    Ypsilanti, MI
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
Why This Is Important

Ebay doesn't allow live animals to be put up for auction, but on their Classifieds site, animal sales are fair game.

EBay claims that they have safeguards in place to protect the animals. But unless eBay is inspecting all of the operations listing pets for sale (because the USDA is not), and unless they're doing home visits on all of the people buying, how could they possibly protect the animals?

The answer: They can't. Because of a loophole in the laws, as long as animals are being sold online, the breeders don't even fall under USDA regulation. Ebay has given puppy mills a huge, unregulated platform to peddle cruelty. And it seems that they're hoping animal advocates won't notice.

Several years ago, the company planned a live animals category in their auctions. The public outcry was so strong that they abandoned the plan. But then eBay Classifieds came along, and apparently the company forgot that people didn't want to see live animals for sale on their site.

Remind eBay that people don't want to see live animals sold anywhere on their site, and ask them to shut down the live animal listings in eBay Classifieds.

Update: Ebay posted a response in the comments of the blog post about their pet sales. However, they continue to avoid the fact that online listings attract puppy mills and backyard breeders and that there is no way for them to ensure that animals come from reputable sources or end up in good homes.

In their response, eBay also referred to a partnership with Petfinder; however, if they want to help homeless pets find homes, then they should work with Petfinder to convert their services entirely to an adoption service rather than listing adoptable animals alongside puppy mill dogs.

Photo credit: Steven Arnold

 

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Stop Supporting Puppy Mills on eBay Classifieds

Dear eBay,

Several years ago, eBay abandoned plans for a live animals category in auctions after listening to complaints and recognizing that this was not a service eBay users wanted to see. But now, with eBay classifieds, you have opened the doors for puppy mills and irresponsible breeders to use your site, as well as making it easier for animal abusers to obtain pets.

The USDA has admitted that it does not sufficiently regulate commercial dog breeders. In addition, a loophole in federal law allows breeders who sell their animals direct-to-buyer -- online, on sites like eBay Classifieds -- to fall completely outside the jurisdiction of the USDA.

In a recently released document, the Humane Society of the United States cautions that puppy mills are poorly regulated and often continue to sell their dogs via online classifieds after they've been cited for violations: "Even among puppy mills that have dropped their USDA licenses, many continue to advertise puppies for sale on websites like www.PuppyFind.com, www.BreedersClub.net, and local online classified ad sites. Puppy mills that sell directly to consumers are not required to be federally licensed."

There is no way for eBay or unsuspecting consumers to know whether the animals listed have come from puppy mills. It doesn't help that the sponsored links include PuppyFind.com, which has been under fire from consumers and anti-puppy mill advocates for years.

There is also no way for people selling animals over the internet to know whether the buyer at the other end is a suitable home or someone looking for animals to abuse, fight or sell into research. That's why responsible breeders and rescuers don't list animals on eBay.

Although you have a partnership with Petfinder, listing homeless pets for adoption alongside puppy mills and backyard breeders defeats the purpose. If you want to help adoptable pets find homes, then I encourage you to work with Petfinder to convert your pet listings entirely to an adoption service.

Ebay did the right when plans for live animal auctions were abandoned. I urge you to uphold that humane policy and shut down the live animals classified section or convert it to a Petfinder adoption service. Live animals shouldn't be sold anywhere on eBay.

Thank you.

[Your name]