A Pomeranian in a cage playing with a toy. Photo credit: openverse.com
By Layla Fischetto ’27
This story was originally published in the GenZeal feature of LNP on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
Four Paws International, an international animal welfare advocacy organization, investigated the sale of puppies on social media platforms in 2023 and 2024 and found that “out of a sample of posts, groups, profiles and Marketplace ads on Facebook and Instagram reported by Four Paws for suspicious activity, only 3% of reported content was removed by Meta.”
In my view, animals are treated cruelly in puppy mills and, in some cases, their subsequent “forever homes,” due to there generally not being background checks when buying an animal through a puppy mill.
As I see it, animals should not be sold online for the following reasons: Puppy mills don’t take care of their animals well enough for adoption, animals may be bred in ways that cause genetic health problems and puppy mills don’t do background checks.
In a 2023 column for Time magazine, veterinarian Karen Fine defined puppy mills as “factory farms that mass-produce dogs.”
This isn’t good for the health of the animals, especially the female dogs being forced to mass-produce puppies. It doesn’t help that the conditions in which the dogs are living are, in the view of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “merely survival standards.”
Fine further notes: “Prospective buyers see an image of the animals’ lives that is carefully curated, unless they visit the puppies’ birthplace themselves, which puppy mills don’t allow.”
What potential buyers see is often fake and made to look like the dogs are being treated well at puppy mills, when that is the opposite of what is going on.
There is another side to this story. The 2023 article “The Benefits Of Buying Your Puppy from a Licensed and Inspected USDA breeder” on the website for Petland Raleigh states: “Buying your puppy from a licensed and inspected (United States Department of Agriculture) breeder is an important decision that can significantly impact your new companion’s health and well-being. These breeders follow responsible breeding practices, comply with animal welfare laws, and produce high-quality, well-socialized puppies. By making an informed choice, you can ensure that you bring home a healthy, happy puppy.”
So, sure, you get a dog online from a puppy mill because it is easier than going through the in-person adoption process. But that dog is more likely to have health issues from breeding or to have a shy or aggressive personality due to the conditions in which it was raised.
Another reason that animals shouldn’t be sold online is that animals might be going to an abusive home or an abusive environment. Adoption centers do background checks for this reason. Puppy mills do not do this — nor do they seemingly care what happens to the dog after it has been sold.
In my view, animals should not be sold or bought online, and people should be reporting those who are selling animals online. Please get your animals through a licensed adoption center.
Animals Should Not be Sold Online
Photo credit: openverse.com
By Layla Fischetto ’27
This story was originally published in the GenZeal feature of LNP on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
Four Paws International, an international animal welfare advocacy organization, investigated the sale of puppies on social media platforms in 2023 and 2024 and found that “out of a sample of posts, groups, profiles and Marketplace ads on Facebook and Instagram reported by Four Paws for suspicious activity, only 3% of reported content was removed by Meta.”
In my view, animals are treated cruelly in puppy mills and, in some cases, their subsequent “forever homes,” due to there generally not being background checks when buying an animal through a puppy mill.
As I see it, animals should not be sold online for the following reasons: Puppy mills don’t take care of their animals well enough for adoption, animals may be bred in ways that cause genetic health problems and puppy mills don’t do background checks.
In a 2023 column for Time magazine, veterinarian Karen Fine defined puppy mills as “factory farms that mass-produce dogs.”
This isn’t good for the health of the animals, especially the female dogs being forced to mass-produce puppies. It doesn’t help that the conditions in which the dogs are living are, in the view of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “merely survival standards.”
Fine further notes: “Prospective buyers see an image of the animals’ lives that is carefully curated, unless they visit the puppies’ birthplace themselves, which puppy mills don’t allow.”
What potential buyers see is often fake and made to look like the dogs are being treated well at puppy mills, when that is the opposite of what is going on.
There is another side to this story. The 2023 article “The Benefits Of Buying Your Puppy from a Licensed and Inspected USDA breeder” on the website for Petland Raleigh states: “Buying your puppy from a licensed and inspected (United States Department of Agriculture) breeder is an important decision that can significantly impact your new companion’s health and well-being. These breeders follow responsible breeding practices, comply with animal welfare laws, and produce high-quality, well-socialized puppies. By making an informed choice, you can ensure that you bring home a healthy, happy puppy.”
So, sure, you get a dog online from a puppy mill because it is easier than going through the in-person adoption process. But that dog is more likely to have health issues from breeding or to have a shy or aggressive personality due to the conditions in which it was raised.
Another reason that animals shouldn’t be sold online is that animals might be going to an abusive home or an abusive environment. Adoption centers do background checks for this reason. Puppy mills do not do this — nor do they seemingly care what happens to the dog after it has been sold.
In my view, animals should not be sold or bought online, and people should be reporting those who are selling animals online. Please get your animals through a licensed adoption center.
https://www.four-paws.org/campaigns-topics/topics/companion-animals/protect-puppies-on-social-media
https://time.com/6270736/online-puppy-mills-misleading