Meet Daisy, a dog I rescued from a trade-your-pitbull site.  Her rib cage was filled with over 60 rounds of buckshot and she was high heart worm positive.  To go to an inexperienced dog owner with few resources, she would have died a slow, painful death.  She is happily in a great forever home now with her new adopter.  This petition is in part to save thousands of dogs just like her, not mention put an end to illegal dog trading for profit which is linked to more even more serious crime.  Please read...

Social media networking sites (private, public, and secret) that allow buying, selling, trading, breeding, and giving away animals for free or profit have become a hotbed for animal cruelty, dog fighting, corruption of minors, gang activity, and crime. Not to mention, they are taxing our community resources.

NOTE: To clarify, this is NOT meant to stop people from posting animals to rehome from their personal Facebook pages, and it is NOT meant to stop rescues or animal advocacy groups from promoting adoptions on social media. This is meant to stop groups from forming that network to create income from pet sales and breeding, or trade free dogs. The anonymity and lack of accountability within these groups makes it too easy to promote animal cruelty by quickly flipping dogs for profit in large numbers without properly screening new owners or providing animals with the medical care they need. It also creates networks for dog fighting and illegal breeding and leads to crime and the corruption of minors. This petition is focused on open, closed, secret, and private GROUPS that do this.

There is no button on Facebook to “report animal cruelty” or illegal activity not related to personal harassment, so Facebook must take the initiative to discontinue these groups. They are corrupting our communities and revealing the ugly sides of social media.

Instead of bringing unwanted animals to a local shelter or rescue where they can receive medical care or find well-screened adopters, people are selling or trading dogs on Facebook networking sites where many times, they meet cruel fates. Sometimes, the people selling or rehoming their animals are well-meaning; other times, they are navigating a system that does not track personal identity or accountability.

Facts:

• Dog fighters actively monitor these sites looking for free or cheap bait dogs, and send well-groomed buyers (or kids) to get the animals.
• “Dog Flippers” actively monitor these sites looking for free or cheap dogs they can turn around and sell to unscreened buyers in different groups.
• Unlicensed breeders look for unfixed dogs to propagate multiple litters in a back-yard setting.
• Some well-meaning owners who no longer have the ability to care for their animals place them on these sites. Sometimes they have medical needs they cannot afford to pay, and the new “owner” or “adoptee” is unknowingly stuck with a sick or dying pet they themselves also do not have the means to care for.
• Minors are often put up to gathering or flipping dogs as gang initiations, or for a larger buy-sell-trade-breed network who can distribute them out to others when they are re-sold so they are not caught. 
• Breeders can sell unnoticed without obtaining the proper licenses or adhering to animal cruelty laws by selling to different counties among different networks. Many times these animals are sold by people who do not know how to care for young puppies or kittens. They are weaned from their mother too early, get amateur vet-care, and go to unscreened buyers. They often die, become very sick, or become the city’s financial responsibility to care for.
• Guns, drug paraphernalia, and stolen electronics are offered as “trade” for dogs, and minors a part of these groups, able to buy from these sellers.

It is nearly impossible for one person (Facebook, law enforcement, or group admins) to monitor exactly what goes on in these sites 24/7. The easiest deterrent is for Facebook to stop these groups from forming.

Community example:
The city of Austin is a progressive no-kill city that has enacted many local ordinances to stop animal cruelty in our city and curb our population of homeless pets so we can maintain our no-kill status. Austin's Pet Trader Ordinance prohibits unlicensed breeders from selling unfixed dogs without paying a fee to the shelter, because they overpopulate the Travis County shelter system.
Social media networking groups (such as ATX Rehome/Adopt a pet, ATX sell/trade your pitbull, and ATX Top Breeds) are focused around group members creating incomes out of buying, selling, breeding, and preying upon animals being giving away for free (regardless of county.) In addition to having the above listed problems, these groups are threatening Austin’s no-kill status because they are taxing our community resources. People are breeding and selling under Facebook identities, and although they are selling within Travis county, they dodge accountability. Law Enforcement has no way to prove they are selling within travis County lines and are unable to issue citations and control this problem. Furthermore, real identities are often not revealed on these sites, making it impossible to report. In the process of buying a dog, crime and robberies occur without anyone ever knowing the true identity of the suspects.

In conclusion, please tell Facebook to prohibit groups that allow networking for buying, selling, trading, and giving away animals. These groups are corrupting our minors, taxing our communities, fostering crime, and resulting in animal cruelty and animal overpopulation.