Selling animals on Facebook is prohibited. The terms of use were amended years ago I believe. However, it took me barely 15 seconds to find groups selling cats. One is called ‘Cats for Sale’ (over 12k members) and the other is called ‘Kittens for sale. Purebreed [sic] kitten and cats for sale‘. It is an open group. There’s open advertising of cats for sale and enquiries from members seeking kittens to buy.
As usual Facebook are unable to police their site by themselves. They rely on users to do it for them. And guess what, users don’t report abuses to Facebook administration because they like these pages or can’t be bothered probably because they know that another group will pop up as soon as one is closed.
There is a sad story in the online news media about a certain Erin Chaneaux who advertised a Maine Coon mix for sale on Facebook. She promised that the kitten was healthy and that the cat came with the usual shots. A person named Gullekson believed it and voila..he bought a very sick almost dead kitten which cost $1000 to keep alive. He spent the money because he had become attached to his cat and who wouldn’t.
He picked the cat up at 355 Prairewood Circle, Fargo from a person claiming to be Erin’s brother. When Gullekson asked Erin for help telling her his cat (Lenni) was sick she blocked him and abandoned him. Surprised? Of course not.
It is bad. Facebook can do good but so often as in this example does bad. Gullekson went through a very upsetting time.
“I told the little guy when I got him, because he was in kinda rough shape, ‘I don’t care if you’re a little rat cat, you’re my cat now.’ I just told him, ‘No matter what happens, we’re kinda in it together.”
He reached out to Animal Control and the police but they weren’t bothered and in any case it is not a criminal matter. It is a contractual matter: misrepresentation and breach of contract. You’ll never sue the seller though because you have no idea who they are or where they are.
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Also this is happening on the Watertown,NY Buy,Sell & Trade pages and I’ve been slammed for telling people to stop breeding just so they can make money and they are not even pure breds.
How are ads for adopting cats any different? Seems to me, many of your contributors here can be instantly shut-down on their facebook pages for their ads to “adopt” cats. Adopters still have to pay fees, like any “buyer” of cats. So much for your cyber-love-fest with your manipulative and psychotic Joyce Sammons. Kiss all her cyberbullying pages goodbye. Thanks for the info on how to make her disappear from facebook, forever. LOL
BS. Cat rescues are charities not commercial enterprises. I am surprised you don’t understand that.
In the US many states have statutes that can be applied in civil court regarding the sale of purebred animals. However most require returning the animal to the abuser/breeder. I believe that stops many in their tracks.