Yet another reason to check who you give your animal to.

[Cavy Carnage]

Well I don't know whether to scream or cry. I was looking through craigslist and came across an ad entitled " I will buy your strays". Now immediatley alarm bells started ringing and so I clicked on the link and now I feel numb. This is the link I Buy Strays Home Page

Basically they pay $25 for an animal (mainly cats and dogs) then resell them to experimental facilities. I doubt they only get them through adverts, they probably reply to posts from people giving away a free dog or cat. So before you rehome your animal, place an adoption fee on them AND check where its going. Don't just presume because it has an adoption fee that the person replying will give it a good home, if these people are willing to pay money then I am sure many others would too.

[Cavy Carnage]

Ok so I see now it was a hoax , I am pretty gullible but it has def opened my eyes to rehoming fees etc.

[VoodooJoint]

It is indeed a hoax. Here is the snopes page on it Urban Legends Reference Pages: I Buy Strays Hoax

However, class B dealers are indeed a real thing and tens of thousands of animals are bought and stolen by them ever year to be sold into the lab industry. They show up at flea markets to buy unwanted animals, they answer "free to good home" ads, they pick stray animals off the street (usually a lost pet since they are able to approach them) and have been known to steal dogs and cats from private property. It's a very real problem and needs to be stopped.

More info
Animal Dealers Who Sell Pets to Research Are the Focus of Congressional Briefing Today | The Humane Society of the United States
HBO: Dealing Dogs

[Ellen]

At first I was appalled, but then after reading this:

You can enjoy their wonderful puppy / kitten stage and then reap a cash reward for having grown such a fine specimen. Start over with a new kitten every six months! Win, Win, and Win!

I thought something was fishy...

[Char-x]

Glad it's a hoax, and in a way it's actually against animal testing because of how sarcastic the website owner is being.

[Pumpkin_RIP]

oh, gosh that scared me at first! I thought it was real at first, but then I realized.

[OSUCavies]

Speaking of hoaxes, is the website about kitties being in jars a real website?

The like bonsai kitties or something?

[Char-x]

Bonsai Kitten

[OSUCavies]

How on EARTH can this be real?!


That's CRUEL.

[Ellen]

As for Bonsai Kitten...that's been around for the longest time and is believed to be a hoax as well.

I wonder why people pay to create hoax sites when they don't make a profit off of them (to my knowledge).... what could they possibly be gaining from them personally?

[OSUCavies]

I guess humor?!

I don't get it. I truly hope it is a hoax. It definitely looks like one. Is that phone number even real?

[Char-x]

Humour I guess, peoples reactions to the thing could send them giggling (some people are easily amused). Bonsai Kittens is a fake I think, it has been caught out everywhere and notice that there isn't a pricelist/phone number and all the normal info you would expect to see on a webstie selling products. I think the website has been traced a few times aswell - I'm sure once the police traced it, not sure I will look up about it.

I don't think IBuyStrays could be real ,its too obvious that it is there to shock people into thinking about their next free to a good home ad, animal testing and giving dogs up to shelters. I quite like the site but looking at the e-mail he recieved its nice to see so many people contacting him in rage but scary to see one or two interested in giving their pets up.