Lost dogs risk never being returned after Facebook blocks appeals as spam
Interfering with volunteer accounts could lead to missing pets being put down, charity warns
LOST dogs are at risk of being given away because Facebook is labelling posts searching for their owners as spam, the UK’s largest lost and found dog service has warned.
DogLost UK has 120,000 registered members, who rely on 40 regional Facebook groups to promote the whereabouts of missing dogs by sharing pictures and information.
However, in the past few months the group’s voluntary coordinators claim to have noticed a significant increase in the number of posts and personal accounts being listed as spam, and subsequently removed or locked.
DogLost members are particularly concerned because of the “seven day rule”, which means that if a lost cat or dog at a pound is not claimed within a week it legally becomes the property of the kennels and can be rehomed or even put down.
Nik Oakley, DogLost UK’s communications adviser, said: “Any action by Facebook that restricts the circulation of posts of someone’s lost dog reduces and hugely jeopardises the likelihood of a dog being reunited with its owner.
“A big problem we have experienced when Facebook have interfered with our volunteer’s accounts is that they lose all the posts of lost dogs they have shared. People then assume the dog has been found.”
She added: “Facebook clearly cannot differentiate between a harmless community post trying to reunite lost dogs with their owners, and a spam post trying to sell cheap sunglasses.”
Christine Mather, a DogLost volunteer whose account was allegedly suspended on three occasions after her activity was flagged as spam, said the impact on reuniting dogs with their owners was “awful”. “I get constant warnings that my account is sharing spam, when really it is just a lost and found post being shared on 20 or 30 local search and rescue groups,” she said.
A Facebook spokesman said: “If an account excessively posts the same content to a number of different groups, it may be reported for spam. If this continues, the account may be temporarily prevented from posting content in groups.
“People want authentic connections on Facebook, which is why these rules and systems are in place to prevent spam. We apologise to LostDogs UK for any inconvenience caused, and would like to work with the charity to help them continue to use Facebook to raise awareness of lost dogs.”
Facebook told The Sunday Telegraph that one of the accounts flagged to them had been temporarily prevented from posting content in groups due to it being labelled as spam. However, they could not find blocks on other accounts associated with the group.
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