Asked And Answered: What Readers Want To Know About Buying Pets Online

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live their lives around the world.

For example, many of us are now working from home; and we may need loyal companions in form of pets. We may not be able to visit animal shelter organisations or have good knowledge of virtual pet adoption.

This in turn has created an ideal condition for irresponsible pet sellers to thrive because they now have reasons for not allowing buyers to first of all view puppies and kittens with their mother before buying.

One of our readers found herself in this type of situation and went online to a pet Facebook group in search of a puppy to buy. What she saw shocked her but she rushed to us with her question which we've answered in this post.

Featured Question

I belong to a dog Facebook group and I've seen many group members advertised their pets on the platform. Is it safe to buy pets online?

Our Answer

After this question was asked, we carried out an investigation into the activities of these social media pet sellers. What we uncovered is that puppies and kittens are being advertised on some social media platforms with keywords that will be difficult for computer algorithm to flag but easy for humans to decode.

On the closed Facebook group that we visited, one of the sellers advertised “Solid male Rottweiler available for a new home” and asked interested buyers to call or WhatsApp for more details.

Another seller on that same group advertised “One male and one female Boerboel needs a new home...They are six weeks old. He urged interested buyers to call or send WhatsApp message to the number on the post.

Our answer to the question is that you should stay away from these irresponsible sellers and breeders advertising pets online because the animals they are selling may be too young or underage, have serious and life threatening illnesses, may be poorly socialised and as such not suitable as pets, or the advert could be from scammers.

Always endeavour to first of all view the pets you're about to buy with its mother because many new kittens or puppies come from farms with inhumane conditions.

But if you're unable to buy your pet after seeing the mother and accessing all the necessary health information from a responsible breeder, the best option is to adopt a pet from a rescue organisation.

Facebook does not allow the sale of animals including in private groups. So, you can report such advertisement next time you come across them for such type of content to be taken down.

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