Several people have been blogging about how eBay has weaseled out of its promise not to sell puppies and kittens and other live animals online by shutting down its auctions but letting the abhorrent practice in through the back door of its classified ads. Here’s a sampling of the posts:

  • And Kim Clune of This One Wild Life, another key crusader against inhumane animal practices, provides a film — which I wasn’t able to watch all the way through — about puppy millers who are benefiting from eBay: eBay Classifieds: Stop Live Animal Sales.

If you don’t feel like reading and just trust me — as well you should! — I’ve posted the petition that Change.org created that lets you shout: EBAY, CHANGE YOUR PUPPY-MILL ENABLING WAYS.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

25 thoughts on “Selling Live Animals Online? Tell eBay No Way!”

  1. I sent a direct message to ebay classifieds via their “contact us” inquiry form. Got a typical form letter back addressing none of my concerns directly. It’s not acceptable, and we’ll keep being loud!

    1. Good for you! And you can read Ashley’s letter if you click on the end of her comment to the “Step up ebay!” link.

  2. Great post, Edie, and also thanks for posting the other bloggers who wrote blogs about this awful practice. I’ve signed the petition. And I’m not supporting eBay until they stop these practices. However, I see a few good things happening on eBay, such as the Dogs Deserve Better e-bay art auction to benefit the Good Newz Rehab Center starting February 25, 2011. Shelters also benefit.

    Anyway, I agree that we have to make noise and sign the petition!

    1. I don’t hate everything eBay stands for – including allowing a lot of unskilled people to make a living; seriously — but a lot of it is sucky, no question.

  3. Thanks Edie. I admit I didn’t watch the video, as I don’t really want to kill myself today, but immediately signed the petition and forwarded it to several friends.

    Maybe William Welch lives in California and is having bad flashbacks to Meg Whitman’s gubernatorial campaign…I certainly am!

    1. The video is brutal, no lie. But it also talks about how difficult it is – and how many years it takes – to shut down a known puppy mill. My point for posting is that eBay has no possible way to regulate, as promised, when the USDA can’t even do a good job.

      No need to watch to get the point. Signing is what really matters. Thanks for doing so and for forwarding it along!

      1. Don’t get me wrong, Kim — I had no problem with your posting it. It’s important information. And the efficacy of this type of graphic demonstration of what’s going on is part of the ongoing discussion on this blog. My pal Georgia Little Pea thinks we need to be in your face to get some people to get animal cruelty and many agree with her. I’m just not one of those people who can deal with it — which is why I am running the Pet Adoption Videos That Don’t Make You Want to Kill Yourself series!

        1. I never thought you did, Edie. I think we need both kinds of communication to get the story out. The reality portion is certainly tough to take, but needs to be said to those who don’t know. Once folks are aware, gentle reminders are often more successful than ramming more horrific circumstances down people’s throats. This is why I love HelpJoey.com so much. (Too bad the ASPCA is likely going to squash them.)

          Thanks for your series. It incites no less conversation, and the conversation is key.

          1. Wait, wait — what was that you said about the ASPCA and HelpJoey.com? Do please tell. I was thinking of including them in my Spay Neuter with a smile series so I would be very interested in what’s going on.

          2. Wow! Maybe we can start a Twitter/FB campaign: Tell the ASPCA that you think HelpJoey rocks (and gets the message across)!

      2. You make such an important point, Kim. Many people don’t think puppy mills are a big problem because they’re regulated by the USDA. But the USDA has never been funded well enough to regulate any animal businesses. Including those that provide food for people who choose to eat meat.

        With serious budget cuts coming (to everything except Defense and Medicare, apparently) this problem could potentially get much worse.

        1. Indeed! We like to think regulation is somehow effectual. But it’s not in this case (or, as you remind, in the case of humane farming practices).

          That was the point, in the video, that I found so dumbfounding. Even with many years’ worth of hard proof, this woman got a slap on the wrist and a work release to go back and continue her cruelty at the mill. Seriously FUBAR. And eBay think they can do better…

  4. Thanks for continuing to bring attention to this issue Edie. I actually missed Mary’s post yesterday, so I was glad you posted it so I could read it. The video that Kim included is actually one done by our local news station here. Kathy Bauck is a puppy miller from here who got off relatively easy in my view. She is still able to sell puppies via the internet. Disgusting no?

    1. Disgusting, yes. You posted two good blogs about the topic too, Mel. I’m so glad that Felissa brought this up and that Care2 picked it up.

  5. Thanks for offering links to other bloggers’ posts, as I missed Kim’s and Deborah – and now I haven’t! And many thanks for the appreciation! I saw that video in my travels – it always shakes me when I see people who have no emotional connection to animals, no kindness in their hearts for them. It was fun to watch that petition populate so fast:) It doubled so quickly after it hit 25k – only a matter of hours!

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