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Article 1
Online relinquishments of dogs and cats in Australia 2
Susan J. Hazel 1*, Caitlin J. Jenvey1 and Jonathan Tuke 2 3
1 School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences and Animal Welfare Science Centre, University of Adelaide; 4
susan.hazel@adelaide.edu.au 5
2 School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide; simon.tuke@adelaide.edu.au 6
* Correspondence: susan.hazel@adelaide.edu.au; Tel.: +61-8-8313-7828 7
8
Simple Summary: The aim of this study was to analyse dog and cat advertisements on a popular 9
online trading website in Australia in February, 2016. A total of 2640 ads for dogs and 2093 ads for 10
cats were classified as being relinquished on gumtree.com.au. There were 23% of dog ads and 62% 11
of cat ads for free animals. The median age was 1.42 years in dogs and 0.9 years in cats. Compared 12
to the human population there were proportionately more ads in Queensland and fewer ads in 13
Victoria. In comparison to pets from animal shelters advertised on petrescue.com.au there were 14
more pure bred dogs on gumtree.com.au, although the common breeds were similar. Fifteen people 15
who had relinquished a dog or cat on gumtree.com.au were interviewed. They used 16
gumtree.com.au because they believed shelters were full, they wanted to see/interview the new 17
owner, or because they originally got the animal on gumtree and it works. These results shed light 18
on a hitherto under-studied population of relinquished dogs and cats. 19
Abstract: While traditionally people relinquish their pets to an animal shelter or pound, the internet 20
provides a newer method to re-home. We analysed advertisements (ads) on the largest website in 21
Australia for trading dogs and cats, gumtree.com.au. Data was collected in 2016. Dogs were 22
sampled on February 7, 16 and 24, 2016 and cats on February 9, 19 and 26, 2016 with 2640 ads for 23
relinquished dogs, and 2093 ads for relinquished cats. It was estimated >31,000 puppies/dogs and 24
>24,000 kittens/cats are relinquished on gumtree.com.au per year. The median age of dogs was 1.42 25
and cats 0.9 years of age. There were 23% of dog ads and 62% of cat ads for free animals. Compared 26
to the human population there were proportionately more ads in Queensland and fewer ads in 27
Victoria. A total of 15 people were surveyed who had relinquished a dog or cat using 28
gumtree.com.au. The dog owners used gumtree.com.au because they believed the shelters were full 29
(n=4), and; they wanted to see/interview the new owner (n=2). For cat owners it was because they 30
had originally got the cat on gumtree.com.au (n=2); they use gumtree.com.au for other things, and 31
it works (n=2), and; they wanted to see/interview the new owner (n=2). The data collected will be 32
valuable for implementation of policy and interventions to protect the welfare of un-wanted dogs 33
and cats. 34
Keywords: relinquishment, dog, cat, online, Australia 35
36
1. Introduction 37
Australia has an owned dog and cat population of approximately 4.8 million and 3.9 million, 38
respectively [1]. However, it is likely that the total population of dogs and cats is higher, as un-owned 39
animals - strays, and those in registered or independent shelters or pounds would also contribute to 40
the total population. In addition, the ownership of an animal may be transferred through sale or other 41
trade, and animals in a shelter or pound can be rehomed. This results in a complex network of animals 42
transferred between the owned and un-owned populations, and between different owners. Animals 43
leave the care of their owners through being lost, surrenders to a shelter or pound, being abandoned, 44
being given away or being sold. Worldwide there have been attempts to measure the un-owned 45
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 2 February 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0061.v3
© 2018 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license.
population of dogs and cats in shelters [2,3], but there is a lack of research into the dogs and cats that 46
are transferred between owners and between owned and un-owned populations in other ways. 47
Much of what we know about the flow of animals from the owned and un-owned populations 48
comes from rescue shelters and pounds. Larger rescue organisations collect data on numbers of 49
surrendered dogs and cats each year. There were 55,570 cats admitted to RSPCA shelters around 50
Australia in 2015/16, with numbers rising in the last few years. In contrast there were 45,256 dogs 51
admitted to RSPCA shelters in the same year and numbers are declining [4]. However, the RSPCA 52
represents only a portion of the surrendered population. The total number of both stray and 53
surrendered dogs in Australia in 2012/13 from shelter and local municipal facilities, has been 54
estimated at 211,655 dogs admitted, with 101,037 of these reclaimed [2]. There is no data available 55
estimating the total numbers of stray and surrendered cats in Australia, although it is likely to be 56
even higher. The incidence of unowned dogs and cats is a worldwide problem, with an estimated 57
129,743 dogs and 131,070 cats entering UK shelters in 2009 [3], and a study from South Korea 58
reporting over 10,000 abandoned dogs in Seoul [5]. In the US, it was estimated that 4.4% of dog- and 59
3.8% of cat-owning households had relinquished a pet to a shelter in the previous year [6]. 60
The relinquishment of pets represents a significant cost to society in a number of ways. In 61
Australia in 2004 there was an estimated $AUS180 million spent annually by animal welfare agencies 62
(ACAC 2006), while in the United Kingdom expenditure by animal welfare organisations was 63
approximately £340 million in 2010 [7]. Local governments in Australia in 2004 spent $AUS83 million 64
on animal management (ACAC 2006); in the UK in 2011 the comparable figure was £57.5 million [8]. 65
While local government costs include dog registrations and dealing with dog attacks, a large portion 66
of these figures would be expected to arise from stray and relinquished animals. 67
As well as the economic costs there are also emotional costs as people may be forced to relinquish 68
their pets due to external influences, such as a relationship breakdown or inability to find rental 69
accommodation that will allow a pet [9,10]. There are also emotional costs experienced by staff 70
involved in euthanizing large numbers of pets at shelters, with shelter workers struggling with the 71
moral dilemma of their job, often resulting in mental health problems and high staff turnover [11-13]. 72
Finally, un-owned dogs and cats are at an increased risk of impaired welfare using both physical and 73
psychological measures of welfare [14,15], as well as the emergence of diseases, demonstrated by an 74
outbreak of virulent systemic feline calicivirus in cats [16], and of Streptococcus equi pneumonia in 75
dogs [17]. 76
If we are to design evidence-based strategies to reduce the numbers of dogs and cats 77
relinquished, as well as protect the welfare of pets in which relinquishment cannot be avoided, we 78
need to know more about the population of dogs and cats involved. Some shelters survey owners 79
who are relinquishing pets to determine their reasons for relinquishment [18,19], and also collect 80
demographic data on the age, sex and breed of the relinquished animal [4,18,19]. While this 81
information is not perfect (for example, owners may not be truthful about the behaviour of their pet 82
if they think it will negatively impact the likelihood of that pet finding a new home), it has been 83
helpful in designing interventions. For instance, knowing that sometimes pets are relinquished 84
because owners cannot find rental accommodation that allows pets has resulted in real changes, with 85
the Australian state of Victoria recently announcing modifications to rental agreements to make it 86
easier for people to rent with pets [20]. 87
Pets are given away or sold through advertisements in newspapers, bulletin boards and using 88
the internet. In Australia, Gumtree (gumtree.com.au) has the highest volume of online ads for dogs 89
and cats, followed by Trading Post (tradingpost.com.au). Breeders of pure breed dogs also advertise 90
on DogzOnline (dogzonline.com.au), although this site represents a smaller number of animals 91
compared to Gumtree and Trading Post. Other forms of social media, such as Facebook®, also 92
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 2 February 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0061.v3
advertise pets for sale or to find new homes. These online sites advertise both puppies and kittens 93
being sold by a breeder, and animals being relinquished. 94
There has been limited research into online trading of dogs and cats. In a US study, dog breeders 95
who advertised puppies on the internet were less knowledgeable about health issues specific to their 96
breed/s and less likely to screen their animals for heritable diseases compared to dog breeders who 97
did not advertise their puppies on a puppy internet site [21]. To our knowledge, no published studies 98
have focussed on pets being relinquished online. The aims of the present study were to: 1) estimate 99
the total numbers and prices of dogs and cats relinquished online on gumtree.com.au; 2) analyse the 100
breed and Australian State/Territory of origin of dogs and cats relinquished on gumtree.com.au and 101
compare with animals presented to petrescue.com.au (an online charity advertising pets from a 102
shelter or rescue organisation in Australia) and the RSPCA; and 3) interview a sample of pet owners 103
relinquishing their pets on gumtree.com.au to determine their reasons for relinquishment and why 104
they chose to advertise their pet online. 105
2. Materials and Methods 106
2.1 Extraction of data 107
Data from gumtree.com.au were collected over approximately three weeks for both dogs and 108
cats: February 8, 17 and 25, 2016 for dogs and February 9, 19 and 26, 2016 for cats. Data were extracted 109
using the BeautifulSoup module in python (version 3.2.1, released Feb 17 2012) to parse the ads, then 110
cleaned and analysed using R (R Core Team 2017) and Pivot tables in Microsoft Excel®(2013). 111
Cleaning was completed within Excel®(2013) by scrutinising individual ads to remove duplicates or 112
ads that were not for dogs or cats (e.g. equipment, pet sitting services). Data for the dog and cat breed 113
and cross/purebred status, owner status (owner/breeder), age, price and State/Territory were 114
collected. Where the town, but not the State or Postcode, were provided, an internet-based Postcode 115
finder (http://auspost.com.au/postcode) was used to determine the State/Territory. If there was more 116
than one place with the same name in more than one State/Territory then the ad was left as 117
State/Territory unknown. An estimate of the number of dogs and cats in each ad was made by 118
generating random numbers using R and then analysing the average number of dogs/cats per ad in 119
those random ads. There were 50 random ads used for both dogs (1.9% of total ads) and cats (2.4% of 120
total ads). Data on neuter, microchip and vaccination status were not collected as a minority of ads 121
reported on these factors. 122
2.2 Analysis of relinquishment ads 123
Dogs and cats advertised on the internet represent a mixture of puppies/kittens being sold 124
alongside pets being relinquished or traded. Many ads request a sum of money for the pet, even when 125
it appears the pet is being relinquished. The definition of relinquishment used for this study was the 126
Oxford definition: ‘Voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up’ 127
(https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/relinquish). Dogs were defined as being relinquished if: 128
1) there was a statement within the ad confirming that a new home was being sought (e.g. seeking 129
new home, very sad to part with…, need to find a new forever home); 2) they were being offered for 130
free at any age; or 3) if the dog was older than 16 weeks of age and there was no indication it had 131
been advertised as a puppy and was still looking for a home (‘‘X’ is a 6 year old pure bred Sheffield 132
Blue Heeler. He is very friendly and good with other dogs and children. Microchipped and wormed. 133
To good home only.’). On gumtree.com.au sellers are classified as owner, breeder or shelter and the 134
shelter animals were not included in the present study. It is possible that some very small shelters 135
were advertising as an owner rather than as a shelter, but there was no way to differentiate these 136
types of sellers. Both owner and breeder categories were included as there were some breeders who 137
were relinquishing pets using the above criteria (e.g. ‘Owner breeder out of work and no petmanent (sic) 138
home, current home being sold by owner(,) cannot find another suitable home.’ or ‘Three female blue amstaffs 139
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mother and her two daughters ive raised my intentions were to bread (sic) them but things have changed there 140
pedigree papered registered ect (sic) spent alot $ for these lines call for more info ect (sic)’). The same criteria 141
were used to determine a cat being relinquished. In some ads there was more than one animal 142
advertised. In those cases, data was collected only from the first animal mentioned in the ad (e.g. 143
breed, age, price), and the other animal/s were not included. 144
The relinquished ads on Gumtree per State/Territory were compared with data provided by John 145
Bishop, Co-Founder and Joint CEO of PetRescue (https://www.petrescue.com.au/), for the same time 146
period as the Gumtree data were collected, published figures on total dog surrenders to shelters and 147
councils in 2012/13 [2] and published RSPCA statistics for cats from 2015/16 [4]. 148
2.3 Surveys of owners who had relinquished dogs or cats 149
An email was sent through gumtree.com.au informing people about the study that we were 150
conducting and asking if they would be willing to participate. Ads were chosen from those available 151
online using the criteria for identifying a relinquished dog, outlined above. These were selected 152
starting from the first ads shown on each day. Due to the high numbers not all ads for relinquished 153
dogs or cats were included on each day. A total of 324 emails were sent to dog owners between May 154
11 and June 14, 2016 and 299 emails to cat owners between May 17 and June 14, 2016. The owners 155
responded to the email either by return email or by phone. Surveys were performed either on the 156
phone or in written form via email, depending on the preference of the respondent. Questions 157
included: the demographics of the animal (age, breed, sex, neuter status, microchip); two Likert type 158
scale questions on satisfaction with the health and behaviour of the animal (1 is very dissatisfied and 159
5 is very satisfied); Where did you get pet’s name from originally?; What was the main reason you 160
advertised pet’s name?; Why did you decide to advertise on Gumtree instead of going to a shelter; 161
Did you advertise pet’s name anywhere else?; Have you successfully found a new owner for pet’s 162
name yet?; If yes, do you know anything about the new owner? Participants were also given an open 163
ended question at the end of the survey to add any other details they wished to share. Approval for 164
this study was provided by the University of Adelaide Human Ethics Committee (H-2016-036). 165
2.4 Statistical Tests 166
Comparisons between groups where the data was not normally distributed were made using Mann-167
Whitney tests. Categorical data was compared used Chi-square tests. Data are presented as Mean ± 168
SEM unless otherwise stated. A significance level of p<0.05 was used for statistical testing. 169
3. Results 170
3.1. Dogs on Gumtree 171
A total of 2640 individual ads were identified for dogs being relinquished on gumtree.com.au 172
between February 7 and 24, 2016. There were 1328 ads on February 7, 1411 ads on February 16 and 173
1450 ads on February 24. Of these, 650 were new ads on Feb 16, and 663 were new ads on Feb 24, 174
giving an estimate of 82 new ads/day, or by extrapolation (x 365) 29,930 ads per year. The average 175
number of dogs per ad in 50 random ads was 1.06 (all ads were for single dogs excepting 3 ads for 176
two dogs), giving an estimate of 31,726 dogs advertised on gumtree.com.au per year. 177
Most of the dogs on Gumtree were classified as pure bred (n=1361, 51.4%) with 1188 (44.6%) 178
cross bred dogs, and 103 (3.9%) ads in which it was not clear if dogs were pure or cross bred. The 179
most common dog breeds advertised on Gumtree and on PetRescue in the same time period are 180
shown in Table 1. The top two breeds in order for both Gumtree and PetRescue were the Staffordshire 181
Terrier and Kelpie, representing just over 20% of the total ads for both sources. The third most 182
common breed for Gumtree was the American Staffordshire Terrier (#4 for PetRescue), with the 183
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 2 February 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0061.v3
Greyhound the third most common breed for PetRescue (#24 for Gumtree). Unlike Gumtree, 184
approximately three quarters (75.8%) of the ads on PetRescue were for cross breed dogs, with only 185
23.8% representing pure breed. 186
Table 1. Dog breeds in which 20 or more individuals were relinquished on gumtree.com.au or 187
petrescue.com.au from February 8 to February 24, 2016 (In 103 dogs the pure breed status was 188
unknown) 189
gumtree.com.au petrescue.com.au
#1 Total Pure Cross #1 Total Pure Cross
Staffordshire Terrier 1 325 (12.3) 163 (6.1) 162 (6.1) 1 234 (11.5) 48 (9.9) 186 (12.1)
Kelpie 2 219 (8.3) 119 (4.5) 100 (3.8) 2 181 (8.9) 40 (8.3) 141 (9.1)
American
Staffordshire Terrier
3 182 (6.9) 132 (5.0) 50 (1.9) 3 91 (4.5) 14 (2.9) 77 (5.0)
Bull Arab 4 135 (5.1) 37 (1.4) 98 (3.7) 7 74 (3.7) 7 (1.4) 67 (4.3)
Border Collie 5 120 (4.5) 64 (2.4) 56 (2.1) 5 85 (4.2) 11 (2.3) 74 (4.8)
Mastiff 6 103 (3.9) 28 (1.1) 75 (2.8) 9 64 (3.2) 4 (0.8) 60 (3.9)
Rottweiler 7 101 (3.8) 73 (2.8) 28 (1.0) 15 37 (1.8) 7 (1.4) 30 (1.9)
German Shepherd 8 98 (3.7) 74 (2.8) 24 (0.9) 12 50 (2.5) 24 (5.0) 26 (1.7)
Siberian Husky 9 87 (3.3) 66 (2.5) 21 (0.8) 19 25 (1.2) 18 (3.7) 7 (0.5)
Great Dane 10 77 (2.9) 26 (1.0) 51 (1.9) 13 50 (2.5) 10 (2.1) 40 (2.6)
Labrador 11 75 (2.8) 34 (1.3) 41 (1.6) 10 64 (3.2) 17 (3.5) 47 (3.6)
Cattledog 12 71 (2.7) 45 (1.7) 26 (1.0) 6 84 4.1) 9 (1.9) 75 (4.9)
Bulldog 13 62 (2.3) 52 (2.0) 10 (0.4) N 0 0 0
Chihuahua 14 55 (2.1) 39 (1.5) 16 (0.6) 16 30 (1.5) 8 (1.7) 22 (1.4)
Jack Russell Terrier 15 53 (2.0) 26 (1.0) 27 (1.0) 8 74 (3.7) 16 (3.3) 58 (3.8)
American Bulldog 16 42 (1.6) 27 (1.0) 15 (0.6) 21 20 (1.0) 1 (0.2) 19 (1.2)
Maltese 17 41 (1.6) 12 (0.5) 29 (1.1) 11 63 (3.1) 9 (1.9) 54 (3.5)
Bull Terrier 18 38 (1.4) 19 (0.7) 19 (0.7) 25 13 (0.6) 6 (1.2) 7 (0.5)
Shar Pei 19 35 (1.3) 18 (0.7) 17 (0.6) 22 20 (1.0) 3 (0.6) 17 (1.1)
Fox Terrier 20 35 (1.3) 21 (0.8) 14 (0.5) 18 28 (1.4) 5 (1.0) 23 (1.5)
Pomeranian 21 31 (1.2) 23 (0.9) 8 (0.3) 23 18 (0.9) 4 (0.8) 14 (0.9)
Malamute 22 27 (1.0) 21 (0.8) 6 (0.2) 26 13 (0.6) 6 (1.2) 7 (0.5)
Blue Heeler 23 25 (0.9) 12 (0.5) 13 (0.5) 27 5 (0.2) 1 (0.2) 4 (0.3)
Greyhound 24 25 (0.9) 23 (0.9) 2 (0.1) 3 109 (5.4) 98 (20.2) 11 (0.7)
Rhodesian Ridgeback 25 24 (0.9) 5 (0.2) 19 (0.7) 17 30 (1.5) 0 30 (1.9)
Maremma 26 20 (0.7) 17 (0.6) 3 (0.1) 28 4 (0.2) 1 (0.2) 3 (0.2)
Irish Wolfhound 27 20 (0.7) 2 (0.1) 18 (0.7) 24 14 (0.7) 1 (0.2) 13 (0.8)
Poodle 28 19 (0.7) 15 (0.6) 4 (0.2) 20 23 (1.1) 10 (2.1) 13 (0.8)
TOTAL 2640
(100)*
1357
(51.4)
1180
(44.7)
2027 (100) 484
(23.8)
1543
(75.8)
1 Ranking of breeds from most common to least common; N: not relevant 190
191
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Most dogs on Gumtree were offered by the owner (n=2480, 93.5%) with 172 ads from breeders 192
(6.5%). The median age for the dogs was 1.42 years, with a range of 0.2 to 14.2 years (n=2640; Table 193
3). The most common age group was 1 to 2 years (32% of ads), with dogs that were 6 months to one 194
year of age and two to five years of age both representing 26% of the ads. Dog ages were not normally 195
distributed, with a right skew; with 10% of the ads for dogs over 5 years of age and 21 of the ads for 196
dogs of 10 years of age or more. Dogs that were cross bred were advertised at a significantly lower 197
age than pure bred dogs (2.0 ± 1.9 years, median 1.3 years) versus 2.3 ± 2.0, median 1.6 years, 198
respectively; p<0.0001 Mann-Whitney). 199
The median price for each dog was $AUS200, with a range from 0 to $AUS7000. Almost one 200
quarter (n=575, 23%) of dogs were advertised for free, with 43% of dogs advertised for $AUS100-201
499 (Table 2). There were 147 ads in which no price was given. Pure bred dogs were advertised 202
for a significantly higher price than cross bred dogs ($AUS562 ± 727 vs $AUS198 ± 266, 203
respectively; p<0.0001 Mann-Whitney). 204
Table 2. Age and price categories of dogs relinquished on Gumtree from February 8 to 24, 2016 205
Age Range N (%) Price Range
(AUS $)
N (%)
Up to 16 weeks 20 (0.8) 0 575 (23.1)
16 weeks to 6 months 131 (5.0) 1-499 1181 (47.4)
6 months to 1 year 680 (26.1) 500-999 480 (19.3)
1 to 2 years 832 (32.0) 1000-1999 187 (7.5)
2 to 5 years 679 (26.1) 2000-2999 44 (1.8)
>5 years 260 (10.0) 3000-7000 26 (1.0)
TOTAL 2602 (100) TOTAL 2493 (100)
1 Tables may have a footer. 206
The majority of Gumtree ads were from NSW (35.6%) and Queensland (34.8%), giving a total of 207
approximately 70% of all Gumtree ads in Australia coming from those two States (Figure 1). The 208
proportion of ads from Gumtree and PetRescue and published figures on dogs surrendered in 209
2012/13 [2] were compared with the State/Territory human population sizes, using data from the 210
Australian Bureau of Statistics 211
(http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/3ADCB8E8492A9156CA2580212
8900122529?opendocument). There was a significant difference between the State/Territory human 213
populations and the proportions of dogs advertised on Gumtree (χ²(7) = 566.6, p < 0.0001), PetRescue 214
(χ²(7) = 507.4, p < 0.0001) and the estimated total dog surrenders [2] (χ²(7) = 4345.2, p < 0.0001). 215
Compared to the proportion of the State/Territory human population, there were more ads for 216
Gumtree in Queensland and NSW and fewer ads for Gumtree in Victoria. Queensland had a higher 217
proportion of all three (Gumtree, PetRescue and total surrenders) versus the State human population 218
(Figure 1). The proportions of dogs advertised were significantly different between Gumtree and 219
Petrescue (χ²(7) = 158.9, p < 0.0001). 220
221
222
223
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Figure 1. Proportions of total ads for relinquished dogs on gumtree.com.au and petrescue.com.au 224
from February 8 to February 24 2016, and total surrenders from Chua, Rand and Morton 2017 [2] for 225
each Australian State/Territory. States/Territories are ordered in increasing proportion of total 226
population. The square symbol is the proportion of the Australian population for each State/Territory. 227
(Note: The proportion of the Australian population in each State/Territory is: NSW 31.7%, Vic 24.9%, 228
Qld 19.9%, WA 10.8%, SA 7.0%, Tas 2.1%, ACT 1.6% and NT 1.0%) 229
230
The per capita values for each marketplace and State/Territory are shown in Figure 2. The per capita 231
number of Gumtree ads are highest for the Northern Territory and lowest in Victoria, while 232
PetRescue and total surrender figures per capita are highest in Queensland. Per capita rates for total 233
surrenders are higher than for Gumtree and PetRescue. The ACT per capita figures for Gumtree, 234
PetRescue and total surrenders are 0.04, 0.04 and 8.7 per 1000 residents, respectively. 235
236
237
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Figure 2. Numbers per capita (1,000) of relinquished dogs on gumtree.com.au (A) and 238
petrescue.com.au (B) from February 8 to February 24 2016, and total dog surrenders from Chua, Rand and 239
Morton 2017 (C) for each Australian State/Territory. 240
A. 241
242
B. 243
244
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C. 245
246
The prices of advertised dogs in each State/Territory are shown in Table 3. There was a 247
significant difference in price category between states χ²(12) = 89.7, p < 0.0001 (data for the ACT was 248
not included as there were insufficient cases per category for analysis). The highest proportion of free 249
dog ads was in Qld (34.5%) followed by the NT (31.9%) with the lowest proportion of free ads in WA 250
(22.3%). The highest proportion of ads for dogs costing >$AUS500 was in Victoria (47.6%) with the 251
lowest proportion in Tasmania (16.3%). 252
Table 3. Price range (AUS$) of dogs advertised on Gumtree between February 7 and 26, 2016 and 253
their Australian State or Territory. Percentages represent the proportion of dogs within that 254
State/Territory in each price category. 255
$0
N(%)
$1-499
N(%)
>$500
N(%)
NSW 189 (23.2) 420 (50.2) 217 (26.6)
Qld 276 (34.5) 331 (41.4) 192 (24.0)
Vic 51 (24.8) 57 (27.7) 98 (47.6)
WA 43 (22.3) 79 (40.9) 71 (36.8)
SA 39 (28.5) 64 (46.7) 34 (24.8)
Tas 24 (30.0) 43 (53.8) 13 (16.3)
NT 15 (31.9) 22 (46.8) 10 (21.3)
TOTAL 637 1006 635
3.2. Cats on Gumtree 256
A total of 2093 individual ads identified as cats being relinquished were posted between 257
February 9 and 26, 2016. This included 1353 ads on February 9, 1397 ads on February 19 and 1465 ads 258
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on February 26. There were 408 new ads on February 19 and 332 new ads on February 26, giving an 259
estimate of 44 new ads per day or 16,060 ads per year (44 x 365). The average number of cats per ad 260
in 50 random ads was 1.51 (37 ads for single cats/kittens, 8 ads for two cats/kittens, 3 ads for five 261
cats/kittens and one ad for six kittens; no number provided in one ad), giving an estimate of 24,250 262
cats advertised on gumtree.com.au per year. 263
A minority of 508 ads provided any information on whether a cat was a pure or cross breed, 264
with 61% of these pure breed (n=310) and 39% cross breed (n=198). The breeds for which there were 265
at least 15 ads on Gumtree are shown in Table 4 in comparison to cats advertised on PetRescue in the 266
same time period. The Ragdoll and Domestic Shorthair were the most common breeds mentioned in 267
the Gumtree ads, however, Domestic Shorthair and Domestic Medium Hair were by far the most 268
common breeds on PetRescue. 269
Table 4. Cat breeds relinquished on gumtree.com.au from February 9 to February 26, 2016 in 270
comparison to those advertised in the same period on petrescue.com.au 271
272
gumtree.com.au petrescue.com.au
#1 Total Pure Cross #1 Total Pure Cross
Ragdoll 1 148 116 32 4 30 24 6
DSH 2 81 0 81 1 1894 0 1894
Bengal 3 37 28 9 12 2 0 2
Persian 4 32 12 20 8 8 5 3
Siamese 5 29 19 10 5 16 15 1
Russian Blue 6 26 14 12 6 12 12 0
Burmese 7 24 19 5 8 8 8 0
British Shorthair 8 16 15 1 9 6 5 1
Manx 9 14 11 3 7 9 9 0
Birman 10 9 9 0 10 5 5 0
Himalayan 11 9 7 2 N 0 0 0
Devon Rex 12 9 7 2 N 0 0 0
Oriental 13 8 5 3 7 9 4 5
Tonkinese 14 8 6 2 11 3 2 1
Domestic Medium
Hair
15 7 0 7 2 375 0 375
Maine Coon 16 5 5 0 12 2 2 0
Domestic Long Hair 17 4 0 4 3 38 0 38
Chinchilla 18 4 4 0 13 1 1 0
Sphynx 19 4 3 1 N 0 0 0
Snowshoe 20 0 0 0 11 3 2 1
Australian Mist 21 0 0 0 10 5 1 4
TOTAL 508 310 198 2426 95 2331
1 Ranking of breeds from most common to least common 273
274
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Most cats were offered by the owner (n=2003, 95.7%) with 90 ads from breeders (4.3%). The 275
median age for the cats was 0.9 years, with a range of 0.0 to 18.2 years (n=2093). The most common 276
age group was up to 16 weeks (23.6% of ads) with around half of the ads (53%) for cats that were one 277
year of age or less (Table 5). Cat ages were not normally distributed, with a right skew; 10% of the 278
ads were for cats over 5 years of age, and there were 9 ads for cats of over 15 years of age. Cats that 279
were cross bred were advertised at a significantly lower age than pure bred cats (2.2 ± 2.7 years, 280
median 1.3 years versus 2.5 ± 2.5, median 1.6 years, respectively; p<0.01 Mann-Whitney). 281
Table 5. Price and age ranges of kittens and cats sold on Gumtree from February 9 to February 26, 282
2016. There were 11 ads in which no age was provided and 90 ads in which no price was provided. 283
Age Range N (%) Price Range
(AUS $)
N (%)
Up to 16 weeks 492 (23.6) 0 1298 (62.0)
16 weeks to 6 months 414 (19.9) 1-499 617 (29.5)
6 months to 1 year 201 (9.7) 500-999 73 (3.5)
1 to 2 years 373 (17.9) 1000-1999 13 (0.6)
2 to 5 years 391 (18.8) 2000-2999 2 (0.1)
>5 years 211 (10.1)
TOTAL 2082 (100) TOTAL 2003 (100)
284
The median price for each cat was $AUS0, with a range from 0 to $AUS2500. Almost two thirds 285
(n=1298, 62%) of cats were advertised for free, with 30% of cats advertised for $AUS1-499 (Table 6). 286
Pure bred cats were advertised for a significantly higher price than the cross bred cats ($AUS351 ± 287
331 vs $AUS66 ± 99, respectively, n=508; p<0.0001 Mann-Whitney). 288
The same proportion of cat ads on Gumtree were from NSW and Queensland (32.7% each; 289
Figure 3). The proportion of cat ads from Gumtree and PetRescue were compared with the 290
State/Territory human population sizes 291
(http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/3ADCB8E8492A9156CA2580292
8900122529?opendocument). There was a significant difference between the State/Territory human 293
populations and the proportions of cats advertised on Gumtree (χ²(7) = 566.6, p < 0.0001), PetRescue 294
(χ²(7) = 507.4, p < 0.0001) and the RSPCA (χ²(7) = 9969.9, p < 0.0001). In Queensland the proportion of 295
cats from all three sources was higher than the Queensland human population, while in Victoria 296
PetRescue and Gumtree represented a lower proportion than the State human population. In WA 297
Gumtree, PetRescue and the RSPCA were a lower proportion than the human population, while in 298
NSW only the proportion of PetRescue ads was substantially lower than the State human population. 299
The proportions of cats advertised was significantly different between Gumtree and Petrescue (χ²(7) 300
= 158.9, p < 0.0001). Compared to PetRescue, there were more Gumtree ads in NSW, SA, Tasmania 301
and the Northern Territory than expected, and fewer ads in Victoria than expected. 302
303
304
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Figure 3. Proportions of total ads for relinquished cats on gumtree.com.au and petrescue.com.au from 305
February 9 to February 26 2016, and RSPCA shelter admissions for each Australian State/Territory. 306
States/Territories are ordered in increasing proportion of total population. The square symbol is the 307
proportion of the Australian population for each State/Territory (Note: The proportion of the 308
Australian population in each State/Territory is: NSW 31.7%, Vic 24.9%, Qld 19.9%, WA 10.8%, SA 309
7.0%, Tas 2.1%, ACT 1.6% and NT 1.0%) 310
311
The per capita values for each marketplace and State/Territory are shown in Figure 4. The per capita 312
number of Gumtree ads are highest for the Northern Territory and lowest in Victoria, while 313
PetRescue and RSPCA figures per capita are highest in Queensland. Per capita rates for the RSPCA 314
are higher than for Gumtree and PetRescue. The ACT per capita figures for Gumtree, PetRescue and 315
the RSPCA are 0.08, 0.12 and 6.3 per 1000 residents, respectively. The per capita rate of cat admissions 316
to RSPCA shelters is higher in the ACT than any other State/Territory. 317
318
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Figure 4. Numbers per capita (1,000) of total ads for relinquished cats on gumtree.com.au (A) and 319
petrescue.com.au (B) from February 9 to February 26 2016, and RSPCA shelter admissions (C) for each 320
Australian State/Territory. 321
A. 322
323
B. 324
325
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C. 326
327
328
The prices of advertised cats on Gumtree in each State/Territory were compared using three 329
categories: $AUS0, $AUS1-499 and >$AUS500. The data for the ACT, NT and Tasmania were not 330
included as there were insufficient cases per category. There was a significant difference in price 331
category between states χ²(8) = 38.6, p < 0.0001. The highest proportion of free cat ads came from 332
Victoria (77%) and SA (67%) with the lowest proportion of free ads in WA (54%; Table 6). Victoria 333
had a lower proportion of Gumtree ads for cats $AUS1-499 (16% vs >30% for other States), and the 334
highest proportion of ads for cats costing >$AUS500 (7%). The proportions of Gumtree ads for cats 335
>$AUS500 was low overall (3-7%). 336
Table 6. Price range of cats advertised on Gumtree between February 7 and 26, 2016 and their 337
Australian State or Territory. Percentages represent the proportion of cats within that State/Territory 338
in each price category. 339
$0
N(%)
$1-499
N(%)
>$500
N(%)
New South Wales 356 (62.2) 190 (33.2) 26 (4.5)
Queensland 366 (64.3) 183 (32.2) 20 (3.5)
Victoria 178 (77.1) 36 (15.6) 17 (7.4)
Western Australia 65 (53.7) 50 (41.3) 6 (5.0)
South Australia 125 (67.2) 56 (30.1) 5 (2.7)
TOTAL 1090 (64.9) 515 (30.7) 74 (4.4)
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3.3. Interviews 340
Most interviews took place on the phone (n=11), with four people emailing back a survey. There 341
were 15 responses in total, a response rate of 2.5% (8/324) for dogs and 2.3% (7/299) for cats. In 342
addition, 16 people responded to the email to notify that they would not be involved, giving reasons 343
such as not having time, or that the situation was too distressing. 344
There was a mix of dog and cat breeds being relinquished by the respondents (Table 7). Five of 345
the dog owners had desexed dogs, with two dogs entire, and one in which the response was unclear. 346
All dogs were microchipped, excepting one in which the response to this question was also unclear. 347
Six dog owners scored a 4/5 (satisfied or highly satisfied) with their dog’s health. Five dog owners 348
also responded on their dog’s behaviour, with three of the five highly satisfied and two giving a 3 or 349
3.5, i.e. neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Four of the dogs were originally obtained online – three from 350
Gumtree and one from tradingpost.com.au. Only one cat was entire, with the owner not clearly 351
stating neuter status in one other cat. All cat owners were highly satisfied with their cat’s health, but 352
one owner scored their cat’s behaviour a 2/5 and another owner 3/5 (Table 7). 353
Table 7. Demographic factors for the dogs and cats being relinquished by the 16 people participating 354
in surveys of why they relinquished their pets on Gumtree (X represents a cross breed). Responses to 355
the pet’s Health and Behaviour were scored on a 1-5 Likert-type scale where 1 was very dissatisfied 356
and 5 was very satisfied. (NS = not stated) 357
Age
(yrs)
Sex Breed Neut
1
MC2 Health Behav3 Original source
Dogs
1 M Pug x Jack Russell
Terrier
NS NS NS NS Gumtree (rescue)
4 F Greyhound No Yes NS NS NS
1 F Bull Mastiff X No Yes 5 NS Gumtree
7 F Siberian Husky Yes Yes 4 3-3.5 Friend as puppy
6 M/
F
Maltese/Maltese X
Pomeranian
Yes Yes 4 & 5 5 & 5 TradingPost
NS M/
F
Beagle Yes NS 5 & 5 5 & 5 Gumtree (rescue)
4.5 M Jack Russell Yes Yes 5 3 Registered breeder
1.5 M American
Staffordshire Terrier
Yes Yes 5 5 Unregistered
breeder
Cats
1 M Ragdoll X Yes Yes 5 5 Gumtree
0.33 F NS No Yes NS Gumtree
4.5 M DSH Yes Yes 5 2 Family litter
3 M British Shorthair Yes Yes 5 5 NS
2 M DSH Yes No 5 NS Family with 2
Ragdolls
0.92 M Ragdoll Yes Yes 5 3 Family
NS NS DSH NS NS NS NS Strays
1 Neutered; 2 Microchipped; 3 Behaviour 358
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There were a variety of reasons given for relinquishment of the dogs and cats (Table 8). For the 359
eight dogs, the most common reasons were that they had rescued the dog and needed to find a new 360
home for it (n=2), and the behaviour of the dog (escaping in one dog and too interested in nearby 361
livestock in another). For two dog owners, two reasons were provided for the relinquishment, in 362
the other six cases, a single reason was provided. For the seven cats, the most common reasons for 363
relinquishment were that the pets in the house were not getting on (cats in two cases and a dog in 364
one case), and moving (n=2). For three of the cat owners, two reasons were provided for the 365
relinquishment, in the other four cases, a single reason was provided. 366
Table 8. Reasons for relinquishment given by dog and cat owners advertising their pet on 367
gumtree.com.au 368
Dogs N Cats N
Rescue 2 Dog/cat not getting on 3
Behaviour 2 Moving 2
Dog injury (working dog) 1 Rescue 1
Own health 1 Allergy 1
Money 1 Expecting a baby 1
Relationship breakdown 1 Too many pets 1
Moving 1 Time 1
Time 1
369
When asked the reason for using Gumtree rather than other places, the most common reason 370
for the dog owners was that they believed the shelters were full (n=4) and that they wanted to 371
see/interview the new owner of their dog (n=2; Table 9). The cat owners chose Gumtree as they 372
originally got the cat on Gumtree (n=2), because they use Gumtree for other things and it works 373
(n=2) and to see/interview the new owners of their cat (n=2). There were three dog owners and four 374
cat owners who gave two different reasons to choose Gumtree. 375
Table 9. Reasons people gave for choosing to advertise their relinquished pet on gumtree.com.au 376
Dogs N Cats N
Shelters full 4 Got the animal on gumtree 2
To see/ interview the new owner 2 Use gumtree for other things 2
Lack of knowledge of shelters 1 To see and interview the new owner 2
It worked before 1 It worked before 1
Shelter is last resort 1 Shelter is last resort 1
Immediate posting and quick response 1 Would be put down at a shelter 1
Would be put down at a shelter 1 Shelter too hard on pet 1
Don't drive so can’t get to shelter 1
377
Relinquishing owners were also asked about the success of rehoming their pet on 378
gumtree.com.au. Of the eight dog owners, three had successfully rehomed their dog at the time of 379
completing the survey, and another owner had a prospective re-home organised. In one of the 380
successful re-homings, the owner had carried out two failed trials with the dog, with a third trial 381
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being successful. For one dog owner there had been two responses with neither suitable, and in 382
another there had been so many responses that they had had to take the ad down, although none had 383
been successful at the time of the interview. In another two dog owners there had not yet been any 384
responses. For the seven cat owners, one person had had 50 offers for the cat within ten minutes, and 385
another had two potential homes within one day. Both of the cats in these examples were pure breeds. 386
In another two cat owners there had been a single response, the three remaining owners had not yet 387
received responses. 388
389
4. Discussion 390
The current study provides evidence about the numbers and types of dogs and cats relinquished 391
on one popular website (gumtree.com.au) in Australia, filling an important gap in knowledge. It 392
indicates that thousands of dogs and cats are being relinquished on gumtree.com.au per year. 393
Information collected on their breed and age profiles allows comparison with other relinquished 394
populations on petrescue.com.au and published RSPCA and surrender data [2,4]. Although there are 395
similarities between the populations, such as the most common dog breeds on gumtree.com.au, 396
petrescue.com.au and in published figures, there also appear to be differences suggesting pets 397
relinquished on gumtree.com.au represent a sub-population of relinquished animals. 398
By extrapolation, the total number of dogs and cats relinquished via Gumtree ads was 399
approximately 30,000 and 16,000, respectively. Recent estimates have indicated that 211,655 dogs 400
were admitted to shelters and municipal facilities in Australia in 2012-13 [2]. Some of the dogs being 401
offered on Gumtree may eventually be relinquished to a shelter or end up at a municipal pound if a 402
new owner is not found. The estimated Gumtree ads represent a significant proportion (~14%) of the 403
total number of dogs admitted to shelters and municipal facilities per year. This proportion would 404
be even higher if one considered other online websites (e.g. DogzOnline, TradingPost), as well as 405
Facebook®, and other private or closed websites advertising pets. The diverse and diffuse nature of 406
online ads, as well as the fact some are closed websites, makes it impossible to estimate the total 407
numbers of pets a dvertised online. If it is also con sidered that less than half of shelter relinquishments 408
are owner surrenders (19% in dogs to Queensland RSPCA shelters in 2014 and 32% of cats between 409
2006 and 2009 in Queensland RSPCA shelters; [18,22]) then the online ads would represent an even 410
higher proportion of owner surrenders. 411
There is a complex flow of dogs and cats between the owned and un-owned populations. The 412
data presented from the gumtree.com.au ads, from petrescue.com.au (representing larger and 413
smaller shelters and pounds) and from published data from the RSPCA, illustrate the complexity of 414
movements of surrendered dogs and cats within and between Australian States/Territories. The 415
human population for each State/Territory was used for comparison; if one assumes that a similar 416
percentage of people in each State/Territory own a dog or cat, the human population is a proxy for 417
the dog and cat population. If one then assumes that a similar proportion of dog and cat owners in 418
each State/Territory relinquish their dogs or cats each year, the proportions should be similar. In fact 419
they were not, and this may be because these two assumptions are not true, and that people in 420
different States/Territories are more or less likely to own a dog/cat and to then relinquish it. In 421
general, Queensland had an overrepresentation of the surrendered population of dogs and cats on 422
Gumtree, PetRescue and the RSPCA compared to their human population, while Victoria tended to 423
have an underrepresentation of relinquished dogs and cats compared to their population. An 424
additional confounder is that RSPCA data is dependent on the numbers and sizes of shelters in each 425
State/Territory, and the petrescue.com.au data depends on the market penetration of shelters/pounds 426
using their website from each region. Internet access and hence access to Gumtree may be more 427
uniform between States. To fully understand the flow of owned and un-owned dogs and cats within 428
and between regions of Australia will require further research. 429
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Although there were similar total numbers of ads for dogs and cats on Gumtree, there were 430
fewer new ads posted in the follow-up data sets for cats versus dogs. This suggests the turnover of 431
cat ads on gumtree.com.au is longer than for dogs. Of the dog and cat owners that were interviewed, 432
a higher proportion of dog owners had already successfully rehomed their pets versus the cat owners, 433
at the time of interview. Of the two cat owners who had multiple responses for relinquishment, and 434
had been able to successfully rehome their pets, both were pure bred cats. However, the very small 435
number of responses from owners relinquishing their pets on gumtree.com.au means that this data 436
is not likely to be representative of the entire population of relinquishing owners. 437
There are many risks involved with online trade in pets for both prospective owners and 438
animals, but as yet online sales of dogs and cats remain unregulated around the world. In some 439
countries voluntary standards for online sales of pets have been developed, with the Pet Advertising 440
Advisory Group (http://paag.org.uk/) in the UK, the Irish Pet Advertising Advisory Group 441
(http://ipaag.ie/) and the BelgPAAG (Belgian Pet Advertising Advisory Group) was recently 442
launched in Belgium [23]. The EU Dog & Cat Alliance released a report into the cost of online sales 443
in the EU recently [24]. The main findings were that online ads are now the most common way for 444
people to purchase a pet, that there are no regulations around Europe that cover this trade, and the 445
many risks involved. These include sale of unweaned animals and animals in poor health. There are 446
up to 269,620 dogs and 67,847 cats estimated as being advertised online in the European Union on 447
any given day [24]. A report issued by BBB® International Investigations Initiative presents evidence 448
on how online pet sellers scam pet buyers in the US [25]. The BBB ScamTracker contained 907 reports 449
on pet scams at the time the report was published, which was 12.5% of all online purchase fraud 450
complaints. Many of the scams do not involve a real animal, for example an ad for a free dog or cat 451
that urgently needs a new home may be posted. Once a person responds to the advertisement, costs 452
relating to transportation and care of the animal are requested. The report includes information from 453
other countries, with 337 pet complaints to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 454
in the first six months of 2017, and 377 complaints involving animals to the Canadian Antifraud 455
Centre in 2016, with estimated losses of $222,000 [25]. 456
In addition to the risks relating to online sales of dogs and cats outlined above, there are other 457
risks relating specifically to dog and cat relinquishment. If an aggressive dog is relinquished to a 458
reputable shelter, the dog’s behaviour will be assessed and the risk to new owners evaluated. 459
Although behavioural assessments performed in shelters are unreliable [26], prospective owners can 460
be educated on the behaviour of the dog and triggers of aggression prior to adoption, and post-461
adoption support provided if behavioural problems arise. In addition, good shelters have access to 462
trainers and behaviourists who can implement programs to improve the behaviour of an animal. In 463
some of the ads it was possible to read between the lines and see that aggression was likely to have 464
been a problem (e.g. ‘Urgent rehoming needed for Jack Russell cross, male, 10 years. Beautiful dog, very 465
friendly but best suited to a kid free home.’) but there is nothing to prevent owners advertising and selling 466
pets with a behavioural problem without providing any warning or information to the new owner. 467
As well as the risk to new owners, there are also risks to the animals themselves. While not 468
perfect, shelters do question prospective new owners on their ability to look after a pet and may not 469
allow somebody to adopt a pet if they believe it will not be well cared for. Again, there is no obligation 470
when dogs and cats are traded online for this to occur. As people may have ready access to the 471
internet at any time of the day, and with the posting of cute photos, impulse buying may also be a 472
significant problem. The wording of some of the ads indicated an impulse purchase, for example ‘6 473
month old Shar Pei puppy we brought him off gumtree two weeks ago and he's the best puppy ever but 474
unfortunately I have no time for him as I have three babies. He has had all he's (sic) needle are up to date. 475
Looking for a good home with someone who has plenty of time for him.’ An additional risk associated with 476
the Gumtree ads was that a large proportion were free, or a minimal cost. It has been suggested that 477
animals obtained at no or a low cost are at an increased risk of future relinquishment [27], 478
perpetuating the problem. However, a later study suggested that the attachment of people to cats did 479
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not differ between free- and fee-based cat adoptions [28]. Further research will be needed to assess 480
whether free animals adopted online are more or less at risk of being re-relinquished. 481
There is also an additional risk associated with offering dogs and cats free, or very low cost. One 482
of the interview respondents discussed how they had been taking home dogs advertised on Gumtree 483
free in order to find them a new home. This respondent felt that otherwise people involved in dog 484
fighting would take them (they had rehomed approximately 80 animals in the past year). To our 485
knowledge, there is no evidence of trade and use of dogs in dog fighting, although it should be 486
considered as a possibility. There were a number of ads describing dogs suitable for pig hunting, 487
which is illegal in some States of Australia [29]. In fact the Bull Arab, which is not a recognised breed 488
by the Australian National Kennel Council [30], is a breed often associated with pig hunting, and a 489
large number of Gumtree ads for Bull Arabs from Queensland (in which pig hunting is legal) were 490
observed. The final risk for dogs and cats advertised free or for low cost online is from animal 491
hoarders. Arluke et al (2017) describe three types of animal hoarders: the overwhelmed caregiver, 492
rescue and exploiter. The rescue hoarder has a missionary zeal to save all animals and actively seeks 493
to acquire animals [31]. Being exposed to advertisements of animals that need rescuing on Gumtree 494
is likely to trigger a rescue hoarder, who can acquire multiple animals free or at minimal cost. 495
It is difficult to determine if the population of dogs and cats surrendered on Gumtree overlaps 496
with the animals that are surrendered to the RSPCA or other shelters. Four of the people interviewed 497
who had relinquished dogs on Gumtree stated that they used Gumtree as the local shelters were full, 498
and while this was not given as a reason by any cat owners there was one person who said they used 499
Gumtree because the cat would be ‘put down’ at a shelter. The animals advertised on Gumtree would 500
represent the ‘owner surrender’ dog admissions to a shelter. Only 19% of the 11,967 dogs entering 501
the RSPCA in Queensland in 2014 were owner surrender, with 24% classified as strays admitted by 502
the public, and 34% from municipal councils [22]. However, some of the strays admitted by the public 503
may represent owned animals, with owners avoiding paying shelter surrender fees, or not wanting 504
people to know they are relinquishing their own pet. The top four breeds processed by RSPCA 505
shelters in Queensland in 2014 were the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (20%), Australian Cattle Dog (8%), 506
Kelpie (7%) and Bull Arab (7%). The top four breeds advertised on Gumtree in the current study were 507
the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (12%), Bull Arab (8%), Kelpie (6%) and Australian Cattle Dog (5%). Thus 508
the most popular breeds for the RSPCA and Gumtree are similar, and also to the dogs offered on 509
petrescue.com.au which represent both larger and smaller shelters. Despite similarities in the breeds, 510
the proportions of pure and cross breed dogs differ widely, with 92% of the dogs admitted to the 511
RSPCA in Queensland in 2014 being cross bred, while only 46% of dogs from Queensland advertised 512
on Gumtree cross bred. The median price of pure bred dogs was significantly higher in the Gumtree 513
ads than for cross bred dogs. 514
There is an important difference in relinquishing online versus giving up a dog or cat at a shelter. 515
At a shelter, owners may have to pay a fee to relinquish their pets, whereas on an online site, they 516
can request a sum of money. However, based upon the definition of relinquishment being used in 517
this study (‘Voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up’) the owners are voluntarily giving up their 518
dog or cat. Indeed, if a dog or cat has been purchased originally for a large sum of money, offering 519
the pet online may allow the owners to make up for some of this loss. The general use of the term 520
relinquishment describes an animal taken to a shelter. When devising the criteria to determine if a 521
dog or cat was being relinquished, we originally planned to have a cap on price for the animals we 522
included in our study. However, when reading the descriptions of the ads, there were ads in which 523
the dog or cat was being traded for over $AUS1000, and yet the wording suggested that the decision 524
of the owner to relinquish their pet had been difficult. Thus, it was not possible to use a cut-off price 525
and say that all pets below that price were relinquished and above that price were not. 526
One reason provided by respondents for the use of Gumtree for relinquishing their pets was that 527
they could speak to the new owners and see where their pet would live before agreeing to give their 528
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pet a new home. One of the owners had even run trials of their dog with the prospective new owners, 529
and had two failed trials before having success with the third. Follow-up and control on the re-530
homing of their pet is something that cannot be provided in a traditional shelter, where the animal is 531
left and no further information on where, and even if it has been rehomed, is provided. A novel dog 532
adoption program has been suggested in the US which involves placing dogs into foster homes, with 533
the foster carer tasked with finding the dog a new home [32]. There are obvious issues with protection 534
of privacy and the possibility of the new owners being harassed by the previous owner (or vice versa), 535
but this feedback is important for shelters to consider. To accommodate owners who want to know 536
where their pet goes and that it is being well looked after, innovative programs should be considered. 537
An important limitation of the current study was the limited number of relinquished owners 538
who responded. Of those who did respond, all would be classified as responsible pet owners who 539
were in positions in which they had no real choice but to relinquish their pet, and who were doing 540
their best to find a good home. One of the respondents had rescued the animal previously from an 541
ad on gumtree.com.au and believed that the owner was going to kill the animal if a new owner was 542
not found quickly (an unavoidable change in this persons living arrangements outside of their control 543
meant that they needed to relinquish the pet). It is likely the population of people relinquishing their 544
pets on gumtree.com.au are mixed, with some doing everything they can to find a good home, and 545
others not caring where their pet goes as long as they can dispose of it. Further research with 546
responses from a larger range of respondents would be difficult, as people who do not care for their 547
pet are also unlikely to respond to requests to participate in research. For the owners who were 548
relinquishing their pets, several were obviously upset about the difficult decision they had been 549
forced to make. It was also interesting that some owners felt it necessary to respond to the email to 550
notify us that they were not willing to participate as they found the situation too distressing. This 551
aligns with previous research that concluded that rather than giving their pet up at a shelter 552
thoughtlessly many people struggled with an unavoidable situation and really had no choice [19]. 553
Research based on the use of big data from web scraping (automated collection of data from web 554
pages) provides both important research data but also ethical questions. Guidelines for internet 555
research have been published [33], and we believe the current study presents no significant ethical 556
problem using these guidelines. The respondents in the present study who were interviewed 557
provided their informed consent to participate, and no personal details are included that could be 558
used to identify them. However, owners whose data were used to estimate numbers and 559
demographics of the relinquished pets did not consent to this use. Although the data were publically 560
available on gumtree.com.au, it can be argued that people did not consent to other uses of their 561
information. However, risks to these people are minimal in the present study as aggregate data were 562
used that do not permit identification of individuals, and the direct quotes used in the paper are 563
unlikely to be able to be used to identify individuals as the ads are now more than a year old and are 564
taken down from gumtree.com.au once new owners are found or owners decide not to continue 565
advertising. The benefits of the research in understanding a population of relinquished pets that have 566
hitherto not been studies are also likely to outweigh the minimal risks to the individuals whose data 567
was used. 568
Another important limitation of the study is that not all information posted by the dog and cat 569
owners is accurate, for example some owners may not know the true age of their pet or may provide 570
false information on factors such as dog breed. Owners may also provide false reasons for the 571
relinquishment due to social pressure to have others think well of us [34]. Finally, the extrapolation 572
from the ads posted in February to the total number per year is likely to be inaccurate as numbers of 573
ads will vary from month to month. This is particularly relevant for cats, as they are seasonal 574
breeders. 575
576
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 2 February 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0061.v3
5. Conclusions 577
The present study provides evidence that many thousands of dogs and cats are relinquished 578
online in Australia each year. This population of pets has previously not been considered in policy 579
or strategies to reduce the risk of relinquishment and protect the welfare of un-owned dogs and cats. 580
Knowledge of online relinquishments adds detail to what we currently know about the complex flow 581
of dogs and cats between owned and un-owned populations, and between different owners. 582
583
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge The Australian Pet Welfare Foundation for a 584
research grant enabling this work to be performed, to John Bishop for allowing us access to the petrescue.com.au 585
dog and cat data from the same time period, and to Dr Veronika Czerwinski for helping with the initial stages 586
of data cleaning. 587
Author Contributions: S.H. and J.T. conceived and designed the experiments; S.H., J.T. and C.J. performed the 588
experiments; S.H., J.T. and C.J. analyzed the data; S.H. wrote the paper and S.H., J.T. and C.J. edited the final 589
version. 590
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. 591
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