Facebook crackdown on animal sales frustrates livestock owners in B.C.

Reports that Facebook has started enforcing a long-standing but often ignored ban on selling animals through the social media site has some B.C. livestock owners concerned.

Small farms, hobbyists and horse rescues sometimes use Facebook groups to connect with other livestock owners to buy, sell and trade animals, said Cat Wood, the administrator of a group for B.C. backyard poultry growers.

“It’s (useful for) connecting with farms in other parts of the country to diversify the gene pool of any type of livestock,” she explained.

“Small rabbit breeders on the east coast connecting with similar folks on the west coast, goats, cattle, swine, poultry, horses — don’t even get me started on how bad it will be for finding new homes for retiring race horses.”

Wood has started directing the almost 3,500 members of her poultry group to use a website to post their classified ads, but the response has been mixed.

“It’s been very frustrating,” she said, adding a website can be more difficult to use and doesn’t offer the same visibility as a Facebook post.

It’s not the first time Facebook has cracked down on the sale of the items listed in its commerce policy, which in addition to banning animal sales also forbids selling alcohol, drugs and guns.

In early 2016, the social media giant tightened restrictions on private gun sales at the urging of government officials.

The animal ban is believed to be aimed at stopping unregulated breeders and puppy mills.

Dozens of farmers and rescues across the Internet are reporting their posts have been deleted by Facebook. The manager of several Canadian horse sales groups told horse magazine Heels Down she had an ad pulled. When she called to ask why, she was directed to the commerce policy.

An online petition asking Facebook to rescind the ban has been signed by almost 33,500 people.