Stop Internet Auction Sale of Companion Animals

We are writing you today to express our concerns over you allowing the sale of live companion animals on your website.

Only recently have we learned that your web site is allowing the listing and sale of live animals that include puppies, kittens, reptiles and other animals. Not only do we personal find this offensive and clearly unhealthy for the animals, but is also dangerous to the buyers.

Some of the animals are clearly listed as being aggressive or have known aggressive traits in the nature of the animal that would put both children and adults at risk. Selling some of these animals is the same as selling a defective gun to a minor child. It would only a matter of time when or where something will go wrong. I know you do not own the goods, and only offer the venue for the sales, but as the company we would think you should have the some concerns over your relationship with these sales.

We are concerned over the puppy mill aspect that your web site has when it allows the mass marketing of live animals that are sold to the highest bidder or first to see can be the first to buy. The puppy mills that were boycotted in the 80s, subject of national news reports and national debate are being given a new Internet store to sell their wares.


The method of sale may have changed, but the end result and subject matter has painfully remained the same. You and we should know there is a negative feeling people get when they hear the term puppy mill, and relationships with a puppy mill is not good for any business.

Your website, which we know you hope will become a national hit and as popular as Ebay or Amazon.com is doing something these two, and most other web sites have plainly distanced themselves from in any form. The listing of live companion animals like dogs and cats is not allowed on these websites. They are treated the same as selling a body part, child pornography and other clearly immoral or unethical materials. Thankfully, Ebay and Amazon, with most of the forward thinking websites in your same business have already distanced themselves from this sordid type of sales.

This is a request that your company review its policy of allowing the sale of puppy mill breed companion animals on your site. It is not that we would consider that all or most of your honest sellers are a puppy mill type business, or bad folks, it is the few that can ruin it for others. The selling of one pet, two pets or entire litters can be considering nothing short of a puppy mill type transaction. We ask that you consider where the parents of the animal may live in awful conditions, bred purely to supply puppies for sale with no consideration to the health of the line, the breeding mother or long term implications of the pet over population we face in America. Every breed of dog organization, all dog clubs, the American Kennel Club, countless rescue groups, animal shelters, local and state governments have polices or laws that address puppy mill environments.

It does not make any difference to many of your customers, if the sale of puppy mill pets or back yard breed animals are pure breeds, mixed breed, puppies, adults, rescues or strays found along the street. Its clearly not healthy for the pets and a no win situation for many that are sold only with consideration to money.

You have no real control and can not promise the buyers at your site a whole lot with it comes to any consumer item, and you should not be selling animals for the same reason. You can not promise the buyer anything about the pet they are buying, and the pet may suffer as a result. Most certainly, some of your sellers may not have the good intentions you and I may have when it comes to a companion pet, and may only see dollar signs. But the bottom line, you are providing the venue for the marketing and sales, therefore you share in the lives of these pets.

If you dont stop allowing selling pets and animals, you could find your web site the part of a news story where stolen animals are sold or traded, a puppy mill related story, a story of animal sacrifice where the buyers got their black cats or choice off your site. It was not long ago, there was a black market in stolen pure breed animals that were taken locally for sale or back yard breeding programs. Literally countless animals where breed this way, and the pet owners are still suffering. The thefts and breeding only started to dry up when the market no longer wanted the unhealthy dogs or cats, when local government made laws and national news stories put pressure government to do something.

We cant express in words alone how concern we are and how much interest you site is beginning to gather with animal rescue groups and activists who share the same views.

We ask that you review your current company policy to end these sales immediately for the health of the animals, safety of buyers and to help stop the spread of animal breeding mills.