Recently, two people in the city of New Bedford, MA were arrested for housing multiple dead and sick animals in their Second Street apartment.  The animals were caged, neglected, and in desperate need of food and water.   The couple admitted to getting the animals for free off Craigslist after promising they would offer "a good home."  They then would sell the animal for a profit or let them die.  In February of this year, a man from Olympia, WA was arrested for starving and killing animals he got from Craigslist.  In Michigan and in Nebraska, 2 separate dog "flipper" cases both resulted from Craigslist ads posting puppies for free.  In 2012, a man was arrested in West Virginia for systematically torturing and killing 29 puppies that he received from Craigslist ads.  In Athens, AL a man was charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty. He would get kittens from Craigslist ads, name them, and then stomp them to death because he was "angry at the world."  

Do I need to offer you more examples, or have you had enough? 

Animals aren't coffee tables or free lumber in the yard that you can "Take what you need!"  They are living, breathing creatures that suffer pain and sadness like you and me.  Why should they be bartered off?  Is there any way to ensure that the person you're giving your animal to is a responsible pet owner?  

Craigslist has no fail-safes in place to protect innocent animals from falling into the wrong hands.  Therefore, it is only right for the site to prevent the trade, sale, or re-homing of animals site-wide.  By signing this petition, you are telling Craigslist to assume responsibility for the past and potential abuse of animals by banning the re-homing and selling of animals.  Currently, Craigslist does have a policy in place preventing the sale of animals or breeding, however rehoming is allowed with a "small fee."  Somehow, Craigslist sees this as acceptable however it does not prevent bad people with worse intentions from buying animals from the website. PETA and AALAS have attempted, in the past, to contact Craigslist regarding this issue.  They have done little to remedy it.  Obviously, posting a warning in bold red is not enough -- Craigslist needs to take the initiative to moderate for animal sales and completely remove the option from the website to post for animal sales, breeding, and rehoming.. even if for a nominal fee or for free.