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In the last two years, we have seen a rising trend at the expense of animal welfare: many people buy purebred dogs and cats for cheap or free via classified ads, then resell them full price a few days or weeks later for profit. With the pandemic, the demand for pets has grown, and with it the number of unscrupulous resellers.
This results in:
- Destabilized pets being shuffled around
- Devastated previous families seeing their former companion for sale
- Behavioural and medical problems hidden from new families
- Dogs and cats neglected while in the process of resale
- And many other unethical consequences
In order to fight against the resale of its protégés, Mission Mayday decided to set up a very strict adoption protocol. It is our hope that we’ll never see one of our animals posted on Kijiji or in questionable groups on Facebook.
For us, adopting a pet is for life. The adoption fees help us pay for some of the care we provide to the dogs and cats we rescue. Unlike these resellers, we don’t profit financially when we place our animals, and we try to keep our adoption fees reasonable.
Protecting our animals from resale means...
- Limiting our adoptions to an area to which we have easy access
- Researching the adopter to ensure they have not been convicted of any animal related offences
- Maintaining an up-to-date blacklist by monitoring MAPAQ convictions and the media
- Visiting all adopters to verify the address provided to us and the state of the premises
Now, let's talk about these people. They are very difficult to identify because they are experienced when it comes to applying for an animal. They will lie about anything and everything to fit the criteria.
In general, pet resellers...
- Very rarely provide their home address
- Prefer to travel to pick up the pet or set up a meeting place
- Make inquiries for animals to give away or at low prices in the classifieds
- Know how to manipulate families looking to place their pet to gain their trust
- Will sometimes apply to shelters and SPCAs because their adoption fees are affordable
In the eyes of the law, it is totally legal to do this, even if innocent lives are involved... Our province does not regulate the sale and resale of pets, so the complexity of this issue lies in the moral perspective. In our opinion, making a profit off these animals is irresponsible and cruel.
What do you think? Talk to your loved ones when they want to give or sell their pet, to warn them of the risks. Together, we can prevent innocent people from becoming victims of this shameful practice.
By Megane Bigot de La Touanne, adoption coordinator, Mission Mayday