Our last update seems to have caught the attention of Pets4Homes as they deleted the adverts showing puppies and other animals dressed up and displayed like Christmas toys under the tree. Most adverts announcing litters of pets 'Ready for Christmas!' have also disappeared, but not all of them.
The PAAG (Pet Advertising Advisory Group) who recommends minimum guidelines for classified websites has recently published the following figures from their research:
- 1,000 new adverts for pets appear online every day in the UK.
- 37% of people admit to doing no research before purchase.
- Over 10% of people reported their pet became unwell after purchase, and nearly 20% had to pay unexpected vet bills.
Combine this with Christmas when pets are bought as a surprise for someone else and you have a recipe for disaster.
Incidentally banning the ads of pets advertised as gifts is not on the list of PAAG's Minimum Guidelines and we have contacted them about this.
Pets4Homes call themselves 'UKs safest pet classifieds'. Safe for who? Certainly not for the pets sold to whoever wants one!
By offering free advertising Pets4Homes encourages animals to be exploited, bred, sold and passed from pillar to post when thousands are sitting unwanted in rescue centres.
Christmas only makes the matters worse.
Please keep on sharing. Animals shouldn't be advertised at this time of year to end up as a seasonal gift.
Thank you!
Isabelle Rineau
@babbacampaign
https://www.facebook.com/BabbaCampaign