Animal Advocacy Animals listed on Craigslist in danger of being abused, tortured and killed

Amy SF

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I got this email today.

It’s been two months since I created this petition, which is now over 350,000 signatures-strong. In that short amount of time, several monumental things have happened. Most notably, Puppy Doe’s torturer was arrested and charged with no less than 11 counts of animal cruelty.

In Massachusetts, this means he could face up to 55 years in prison. For those of us close to the case, the day of his arrest was an emotional one. Most notably for the goal of this petition, police confirmed that the suspect did indeed purchase Kiya/PuppyDoe from a Craigslist ad for $40.

In fact, prior to ending up in the hands of this sick individual, she had been re-homed twice on Craigslist. More stories of animal neglect, abuse and torture that started with a Craigslist ad have made headlines. Most recently, an Alabama man admitted to torturing and killing kittens that he bought from Craigslist ads. Clearly, something is very, very broken, and clearly many thousands of us agree and are respectfully asking Craigslist to take a hard look at their pet ad policy.

I’m well aware of Jim Buckmaster’s response that was posted on the Craigslist blog back on 9/25 and it’s simply not good enough. I have recently reached out to them with a proposal outlining how they can keep the pets section but still hold people accountable by possibly using a paid model. I have the support of other animal welfare advocates, and have two attorneys on board. I will keep everyone posted on our progress.

Meanwhile, please continue to send me examples of suspicious “free to a good home" ads. Suspicious ads are those promoting dog fighting http://www.chicagonow.com/raining-cats-dogs/2013/08/rehoming-pets-on-craigslist/, and pet-flipping http://www.examiner.com/article/craig-s-list-enabling-criminals-to-exploit-and-harm-animals, or any ad where it seems the pet is being abused or neglected.

You can email these examples to puppydoeboston@gmail.com and stay in touch with me there, too.

If you’d like to contact Craigslist yourself, you can email their PR team at press@craigslist.org

Thank you for signing and sharing the petition and for being a voice for the voiceless.

Sincerely,
Joyel

This message was sent by Joyel E. using the Change.org system. You received this email because you signed a petition started by Joyel E. on Change.org: " Justice for Puppy Doe: Tell Craigslist to Help Stop Violence Against Pets." Change.org does not endorse contents of this message.

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I see nothing about the offensive issues to be inherently about Craigslist. Craigslist is just a medium for communicating the availability of something. You can set terms, even all of the terms that the links suggest:
  • Meet in person with potential new owners.
  • Do a reference check to see if the person is employed and may have a pet in their home.
  • Visit your pet’s new home to see what type of environment it will be and to see if the whole family is on board with the pet adoption. Check to see if the new home is safe? Will your dog have a yard or someplace to walk? What is the family interaction like?
  • If the person has a pet, talk with their veterinarian to see what type of care they provide or provided for their pet.
  • Ask for a rehoming fee to put value on your pet and to see if this person can afford a pet and is willing to do what it takes to own a pet.
before approving prospective adopters for pets. I know of many successful Craigslist animal adoptions among my friends.

Some people just need a scapegoat with a face, I guess.
 
I see nothing about the offensive issues to be inherently about Craigslist. Craigslist is just a medium for communicating the availability of something. You can set terms, even all of the terms that the links suggest:
  • Meet in person with potential new owners.
  • Do a reference check to see if the person is employed and may have a pet in their home.
  • Visit your pet’s new home to see what type of environment it will be and to see if the whole family is on board with the pet adoption. Check to see if the new home is safe? Will your dog have a yard or someplace to walk? What is the family interaction like?
  • If the person has a pet, talk with their veterinarian to see what type of care they provide or provided for their pet.
  • Ask for a rehoming fee to put value on your pet and to see if this person can afford a pet and is willing to do what it takes to own a pet.
before approving prospective adopters for pets. I know of many successful Craigslist animal adoptions among my friends.

Some people just need a scapegoat with a face, I guess.

I agree to an extent - if a person had the desire to go through the necessary steps to ensuring a prospective animal's adoption to a good, safe home - there are ways to do that. The problem is that people are lazy and a lot of them posting animals just want to get that animal off of their hands. That plays right into the hands of malicious individuals.
 
I agree to an extent - if a person had the desire to go through the necessary steps to ensuring a prospective animal's adoption to a good, safe home - there are ways to do that. The problem is that people are lazy and a lot of them posting animals just want to get that animal off of their hands. That plays right into the hands of malicious individuals.

But why single out Craigslist the way the articles have? Should telephone/power companies and bulletin board manufacturers be held accountable for every flyer posted on every utility pole and notice board? The problem has little to do with the way the pet's availability is communicated. We can't expect no-kill shelters to be the only means of finding homes for pets.
 
I'm not bashing Craigslist. I'm bashing the idiots that abuse it. If people are willing to police Craigslist in an effort to weed out potential animal abusers - why would you have a problem with that?
 
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I'm not bashing Craigslist. I'm bashing the idiots that abuse it. If people are willing to police Craigslist in an effort to weed out potential animal abusers - why would you have a problem with that?

I don't think you are bashing Craigslist. It's the way it is voiced in the articles. Treating it like it's a "Craigslist problem" is no different to me from racial profiling. The same **** happens with the box full of kittens in front of the grocery store and the free pet flyers you see on phone poles and bulletin boards and in ads on freecycler.

I have archaeologist friends who police Ebay to track down trafficking of illegally obtained antiquities and grave goods. They also go to swap meets and pawn shops and antique stores. We don't refer to it as something inherently Ebay, we refer to it simply as a problem with illegal trade of antiquities and grave goods and deal with that as a problem. The situation with pet abuse is practically the same.

Asking Craigslist to be aware of the issue and to maybe help facilitate means to keep the baddies away is perhaps a good one, but the petition is naive in suggesting that only registered shelters or rescue groups should be allowed to take the animals. They can't handle that kind of load. Disallowing free exchange (for want of a better term) of pets on places like Craigslist only encourages people to ultimately abandon unwanted pets on the side of the road because they feel they have no other options. It might be more beneficial to simply ask Craigslist to post the recommended steps in checking out potential owners.
 
I'll add that poorly written articles really annoy me, so that may have made my reaction a little harsher (though I believe what I believe). I also find online petitions disingenuous, repugnant, and lazy, a product of a mostly generational subculture that endeavors to feel good for having done something toward a meaningful moral end without having done a damn thing.
 
I'll add that poorly written articles really annoy me, so that may have made my reaction a little harsher (though I believe what I believe). I also find online petitions disingenuous, repugnant, and lazy, a product of a mostly generational subculture that endeavors to feel good for having done something toward a meaningful moral end without having done a damn thing.

You're a little cranky.
 
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