Hazel Susan J, Jenvey Caitlin J, Tuke Jonathan
School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences and Animal Welfare Science Centre, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2018 Feb 7;8(2):25. doi: 10.3390/ani8020025.
While traditionally people relinquish their pets to an animal shelter or pound, the internet provides a newer method to re-home. We analyzed advertisements (ads) on the largest website in Australia for trading dogs and cats: Gumtree. Data was collected in 2016. Dogs were sampled on 7, 16 and 24 February 2016 and cats on 9, 19 and 26 February 2016, with 2640 ads for relinquished dogs, and 2093 ads for relinquished cats. It was estimated >31,000 puppies/dogs and >24,000 kittens/cats are relinquished on Gumtree per year. The median age of dogs was 1.42 and cats 0.9 years of age. There were 23% of dog ads and 62% of cat ads for free animals. Compared to the human population, there were proportionately more ads in Queensland and fewer ads in Victoria. A total of 15 people were surveyed who had relinquished a dog or cat using Gumtree. The dog owners used Gumtree for two reasons: because they believed the shelters were full (n = 4); and they wanted to see/interview the new owner (n = 2). For cat owners: they had originally got the cat on Gumtree (n = 2); they use Gumtree for other things, and it works (n = 2), and; they wanted to see/interview the new owner (n = 2). The data collected will be valuable for implementation of policy and interventions to protect the welfare of unwanted dogs and cats.
传统上人们会把宠物送到动物收容所或兽栏，但互联网提供了一种新的重新安置宠物的方式。我们分析了澳大利亚最大的猫狗交易网站Gumtree上的广告。数据收集于2016年。分别于2016年2月7日、16日和24日对狗的广告进行抽样，于2016年2月9日、19日和26日对猫的广告进行抽样，其中有2640条待领养狗的广告和2093条待领养猫的广告。据估计，Gumtree上每年有超过31,000只幼犬/狗和超过24,000只小猫/猫被待领养。狗的年龄中位数为1.42岁，猫为0.9岁。23%的狗的广告和62%的猫的广告是免费赠送动物的。与人口分布相比，昆士兰州的广告比例相对较高，维多利亚州的广告较少。总共对15名通过Gumtree放弃领养狗或猫的人进行了调查。狗主人使用Gumtree有两个原因：他们认为收容所已满（4人）；他们想见到/面试新主人（2人）。对于猫主人来说：他们最初是在Gumtree上得到这只猫的（2人）；他们用Gumtree做其他事情，而且很有效（2人）；他们想见到/面试新主人（2人）。收集到的数据对于实施保护无人想要的狗和猫的福利的政策和干预措施将很有价值。
