Kim Basinger Demands Craigslist Remove All Animal Posts to Stop Abuse

This week, actress and animal advocate Kim Basinger sent Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster a demand letter asking him to ban all posts involving animals on his platform. While Craigslist bans the sale of animals on its website, it allows users to post animals they are looking to “rehome,” which creates a loophole for trading animals for nefarious purposes such as dogfighting and other forms of animal abuse. 

“It’s maddening to see thousands of postings each day from cities across the country of unscrupulous breeders, puppy and kitten mill operators, and dishonest sellers, taking advantage of the Craigslist ‘rehoming’ loophole and duping families into paying exorbitant fees for animals,” Basinger said. “Partnering with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, I implore Craigslist to exercise its ethical and corporate responsibility in seeing to the closure of the animal ‘rehoming’ loophole by prohibiting these posts once and for all.”

Animal abuse on Craigslist
According to animal-rights group Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), Craigslist users have reported purchasing sick animals riddled with diseases such as Parvo from neglect and unsanitary housing conditions (which were consistent with puppy mills) and “rehoming” schemes where horses were sold for slaughter in Canada or Mexico. In one instance, a serial dog killer mutilated and killed 29 puppies obtained from Craigslist, often from posts labeled “free to a good home.” 

“We have heard from an alarming number of families who have been victimized by breeders and animal brokers on Craigslist, not to mention the cruelty and suffering inflicted on the animals themselves,” ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells said. “We join Kim Basinger in urging Craigslist to ban users from posting animals to the website for any reason and will continue to shine a light on the ongoing reports we are receiving from victims until the company takes concrete action.”