Pet sales through Facebook could risk welfare of animals

There are concerns surrounding the welfare of puppies and kittens being sold over the internet between people potentially with no experience in breeding, sales or animal care.

One Wagga lady has experience from both sides, and said there is a right and wrong way to sell pets over Facebook.

"I’ve been breeding my border collies for about a year and a half now, and Facebook is really the only platform I’ve sold my puppies through; I tried Gumtree but you couldn’t check what people were like as buyers," Rachel Sullivan said. 

Miss Sullivan owns three border collies, two females and a male, and her four-year-old dog named Mia has just had her third litter of puppies. 

She said the key to making sure they go to good homes is a mix of instinct and getting to know the buyer. 

"I go onto their social media profiles to get an idea of what they’re like. I saw a lady once who had given away three or four dogs already, so there was no way I was going to sell her a pup," she said.

"I always ask them if they have a big yard, what they plan on doing with the dog, whether it will be a house dog or a farm dog, and once you get to know the pups - I have them for eight weeks - they develop personalities and I can tell which ones are lazy or playful so I can see which one will suit someone the best."

The devoted fur-mum said she has never had an issue with her puppies going to bad homes or being returned, but has experienced the poor treatment resulting from social media sales in the past. 

"I actually bought Mia and her sister off Facebook and that showed the not-so-nice side of things," she said.

"They were both riddled with worms and so close to death, so I was very lucky to save them, and then the same lady who sold them to me actually wanted to buy one of my pups without knowing I remembered who she was, and it was obviously a flat out no."

From an animal welfare perspective, Stacey Hinch, from Best Friends Pet Rescue, said in the end, it comes down to understanding who the animal is going to.

"[The breeders] need to be able to look into the home and ask to do a yard check so they can really see the conditions and ask lots of questions," she said.

"If people aren’t willing to do that, then chances are it’s not a good home."

Another aspect of responsible pet trading online is cost.

"Animals should never be given away for free either, because not everyone will be able to keep up with expenses of looking after a pet," Ms Hinch said.

"They need to do what any rescue organisation would do, and don’t be afraid to say no if it isn’t the right home."

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