When you need to find a couch or a washing machine on the cheap, you know just where to look — KSL Classifieds. But like a lot of folks, you might be surprised to see some furry faces looking back at you among our listings. KSL Classifieds is aware of the potential risks of having a Pets category on our site, but we know that there’s a market for good people looking to buy, sell or adopt animals in a safe environment. 

We are also aware that there are irresponsible breeders and pet sellers that use our platform, but we ultimately feel that we can do more good within the pet community by making changes to our Pets category, rather than eliminating it altogether. By instituting new policies and procedures that make it harder for irresponsible breeders and pet sellers to use our site, we can also improve the experience for responsible people looking to find homes for the pets in their community.  

That’s why we’re also communicating with local thought leaders and working to educate the public about responsible breeding practices. It’s all part of our effort to make the KSL Classifieds Pets category a safe place to give local animals a loving home.

Changes we’re making

So what changes has KSL Classifieds made to our Pets category? We’re putting forth a variety of efforts to combat irresponsible breeding practices on our site, including:

  • A new dog listing fee: When creating a new listing for a dog, users will now have to pay a $15 listing fee. This is a small step, but it’s our hope that by having a financial investment in the dog(s), users will put more care into where they are homed. This will also help discourage people from breeding for profit, while reducing the instances of duplicate listings and making our Dogs subcategory more easily searchable. We are starting this policy exclusively with dog listings — the subcategory in which we see the most listings, and therefore, the most suspicious activity. A portion of the money from these fees will go back into local shelters and animal rights groups. 
  • Creating new features and policies on site: We aim to make it easier for users to find dogs from shelters and responsible breeders, and harder for nefarious folks to get their listings seen. To this end, we’re working on adding a rescue/adoption filter, setting a maximum listing price for dog listings and eventually allowing users to upload certifications and medical records. We’re also working on a feature that will automatically upload listings from local adoption centers.
  • Educational content: We’re creating more educational content in an attempt to keep users aware of the warning signs of irresponsible breeders. This will help users stay vigilant, in turn helping us actively combat suspicious listings on our site. We also aim to teach users some of the best ways to create a happy home for their new pet. 
  • Encouraging adoption whenever possible: Does KSL Classifieds encourage pet adoption? Of course we do — in fact, we prefer it when the situation is right. That’s why we’re still offering free listings to local pet shelters. It’s our hope that by charging private users a fee and giving free listings to shelters, we’ll decrease the amount of for-profit listings and increase the amount of adoption listings. 
  • Working with local shelters and thought leaders: KSL Classifieds will be sponsoring pet events put on by local shelters to encourage adoption within our community. We’re also in constant communication with local shelters and thought leaders about potential changes to our policies. If something isn’t working, we’ll change it, because pets come first. 

What you can do to help

Our team will be closely monitoring our pet listings to weed out suspicious activity, but as with any other fraudulent activity on KSL Classifieds, your help goes a long way. If you see a listing that looks suspicious, please flag it so our team can investigate. Signs of suspicious breeders include: 

  • Being unwilling to meet in person or let you see the animal’s dwellings
  • Always having new litters available (This indicates a large scale operation and/or a lack of rest time for mothers in between litters)
  • Refusing to supply veterinary and medical records for their animals
  • Asking for money before you’ve seen the pet

These are just a few of the potential warning signs of a fraudulent or irresponsible breeder. To read more on how to spot a puppy mill, backyard breeder or pet scam, visit our Pets page. And be sure to always follow the golden rule of buying and selling online — if something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut.

It’s our goal to make KSL Classifieds a force for good in our community — a place where local pet lovers can easily find their new best friend from a shelter or a responsible breeder. To this end, we are doing all we can to reduce the instances of irresponsible practices on our site. There may always be those who care more about money than an animal’s well-being, but we’re working hard to ensure that such people have one less avenue to work with in Utah and the Mountain West.