We petition you to discontinue allowing free animal posts, or at least print a warning for your users about the dangers of "free to good homes" ads.
We petition you to discontinue allowing free animal posts, or at least print a warning for your users about the dangers of "free to good homes" ads.
As you may be aware, animals given away for free can, and unfortunately often do, meet gruesome fates. They can end up in the hands of animal abusers like Barry Herbeck, a Wisconsin man who was convicted of torturing and killing animals he obtained through "free to a good home" ads. He confessed to taking his kids with him when responding to the ads so that people would be comfortable turning animals over to him.
Small animals advertised as "free to a good home" are sometimes acquired by individuals who intend to use them as bait in training other animals to fight. Gerbils, hamsters, and young kittens are often acquired to be used as snake food.
Animal protection organizations all over the United States work diligently to educate people about the proper procedure for placing animals and frequently assist people in finding good homes for their animals. They routinely contact individuals who place "free to a good home" advertisements to alert them to the potential perils for their animals and continuously receive appreciative calls from people who say they never knew that these dangers existed.
Freecycle could do its website users and the animals a great service, while setting a very progressive example, by disallowing advertisements for free animals - or at least printing a warning for your users about the dangers of offering free animals to good homes.
We are including some comment sections
here so that the signers can make suggestions to you about changing your
present practice. Also some will want
to share thoughts about these "free to good home" ads. Thank you.
