Answer from the Customer Success Supervisor to Kijiji Canada:

“Hi Barbara,

Thank you for your email. We deeply appreciate the work you do and take concerns about pet rehoming on our platform very seriously. Ensuring that the Pets category remains a safe and responsible space is a top priority for us. This is a complex task given the vast amount of content posted on Kijiji every day, but we are deeply committed to upholding high standards.

Our Approach to Safety & Moderation:
We have invested heavily in a combination of automated systems, proactive monitoring, and user reporting to help maintain a secure environment:

Automated systems: we employ advanced machine learning and filtering tools to scan content as it’s posted, helping detect and remove listings that violate our policies, such as commercial breeding, fraud, or spam. When such content is identified, it can be automatically removed or flagged for further review.

User reporting & review: we rely on our user community to help identify and report inappropriate content. When an ad is flagged or we receive a message from community members, the reported content undergoes further review, and appropriate action is taken.

Focus On Unethical Breeding & Misuse:
We recognize the risks associated with unethical breeding and irresponsible rehoming. That’s why we’ve implemented safeguards to promote responsible pet adoption and to help prevent misconduct, including:

Dogs and puppies posted in the Pets section may not be listed as Free. It is important to us that everyone who adopts a dog can afford the care of the animal

Allowing listings for free cats, following SPCA guidelines to address shelter overpopulation, but discouraging these listings by not offering a “free” price option for cats during the ad creation process.

Insertion fees for all pet rehoming ads, to further promote accountability and discouraging misuse of our platform.

One free pet listing per household, limiting excessive listings and supporting a more controlled approach to rehoming.

Ongoing Policy Development & Partnerships:
Over the years, Kijiji has established meaningful relationships with animal welfare organizations such as the Ontario SPCA and Toronto Humane Society, as well as with law enforcement. These relationships have played a key role in shaping our policies, helping us maintain a safe environment for the Kijiji community. For instance, in collaboration with our partners, we made the decision to disallow terms like “designer” and “teacup” in the Pets category, recognizing that such labels prioritize aesthetics over health considerations.

We admire your advocacy for stronger legislation around licensing pet establishments. If the legislation should change, we are committed to reviewing our policies to ensure we comply with legal obligations around licensing.

We appreciate your feedback and hope this clarifies Kijiji’s commitment to supporting a safe and trustworthy environment for pet rehoming. If you ever come across a listing that you believe violates our policies, we strongly encourage you to report it using the Report Listing flag or by reaching out to us directly.”

— Kijiji Canada

Keep an eye out for more correspondence between me and Kijiji.

Barbara

Read also: Part 1. My message to Scott Neil, CEO of Kijiji Canada

Photo of classified ad by Cory Doctorow via Unsplash