Animal rescue organisations and welfare advocates are raising the alarm over the rapid rise of online animal sales.

Founder of Wollies Animal Shelter, Cilla Trexler, warned that the trend is enabling scams, promoting irresponsible breeding, and putting countless animals at risk.

She expressed strong disapproval of the practice, saying it opens the door to deception and cruelty.

“I totally do not agree with it. It gives room for a lot of scams and practices that are detrimental to animals, and also, they steal a lot of money,” she said.

Trexler added that breeding animals for sale or for showing is something she is firmly against, adding that she is aware of many people who have been scammed while trying to buy pets online.

“A man bought a Malinois online. He paid R17 000, and he got nothing.”

According to Trexler, there are many scams like that and the perpetrators rarely get caught.

The Animal Protection Forum SA (APFSA) said Meta does not allow the sale of live animals on Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram, yet hundreds of posts continue to appear on those platforms every day.

The organisation advises users to document and report any adverts they come across.

“We advise people to screenshot showing all visible details, report the post to group admins, and then report it to Meta.

“If Facebook claims the post does not violate community standards, users should request a review and state that Facebook does not understand the intent of the advert.”

According to the forum, many sellers hide prices or disguise sales using terms like ‘rehoming’ or ‘adoption’.

“It is deliberate deception under the Consumer Protection Act, and should be reported to the National Consumer Commission. Sellers requesting cash payments should also be reported to SARS.”

Residents are urged to report suspicious breeders or sellers using the APFSA’s online reporting portal.

Reports remain confidential and help the organisation build a database to track illegal operations, backyard breeding and exploitative sellers.

Even though current laws do not fully address the issue, the forum said public reporting helps expose the scale of the problem and supports future enforcement.

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