On-Line Pet Auctions Draw Protests

by Sherry Morse

A Taiwanese animal protection group has called on all pet lovers to file complaints about Yahoo!Kimo’s decision to allow live animals to be auctioned through the site via email, and to boycott all of the site’s services. Yahoo!Kimo is Taiwan’s largest online auction website. According to the Life Conservationist Association (LCA), up to 10,000 animals are made available for auction each day, including kangaroos, pigeons and raccoons as well as dogs and cats.

Buddhist Master Shih Chuan-fa, secretary-general of the Association, stated, "Our ultimate goal with this campaign is to stop the trading of all animals and human beings." At the very least, Shih hopes that the appeal will put moral pressure on Yahoo!Kimo, both from the public and from the media.

The Association sent several complaints to Yahoo!Kimo in recent weeks, with little response, but is hoping that the increased pressure from the new campaign will yield greater results. If the campaign does not produce the desired response the Association may turn to the law to stop the auctions.

"While the current Animal Protection Law stipulates that all pet shop owners have to obtain an operation license to sell pets, Yahoo!Kimo allows unauthorized individuals to publicly auction off animals online," Shih said.

Ms. Cheng, an expert on the Animal Protection Law at the Cabinet’s Council of Agriculture, disagreed with this assessment, however, claiming that Yahoo!Kimo is not breaking the law by allowing animals to be sold online.

"The law mandates that only the owners of pet dogs need operation licenses to sell their animals because dogs are the only pets that require official registration," she said, adding that only pet shop owners are eligible to apply for the operation license.

But other groups support the stance taken by the LCA. The animal welfare group "Stop Cruelty to Animals Now" condemns on-line animal auction sites as cruel because they potentially provide a place for puppy mill owners to dump animals at low prices.

While some Web sites are set up specifically for animal auctions, others such as Ebay prohibit the auction of animals.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.