As you know, our cities are struggling to manage a crushing pit bull overpopulation problem. Shelters are overcrowded with unwanted pits; up to 20,000 a year are destroyed in bay area shelters alone. Due to unchecked numbers, irresponsible breeding, rampant physical abuse and abandonment, this one breed is experiencing the darkest hour of its history. (More Info)

Our volunteers sort through hundreds of emails and calls for help each month from overwhelmed pet owners or from Good Samaritans who find stray pit bulls on the streets. Our rescue resources are dwarfed by the problem; we turn away scores of dogs, knowing they won't survive. The shelter workers battle burn out from the daily sadness of euthanizing huge numbers of pit bulls, many of them very deserving and adoptable. The 'dead bins' fill up daily in every shelter (see photo below), and yet the problem shows no signs of slowing down.

Enter Craigslist: In a time when breed suffering seems to be at its worst, Craigslist is providing a means for making a bad crisis even more desperate. Free & easy advertising supports quick pit bull puppy sales, amateur studding hook ups and even match arrangements for illegal dogfights. Unhealthy and defective dogs are being sold to ill-prepared homes. Pups that are too young to be separated from their mothers routinely trade hands. Word on the street is out: Craigslist Pets has become THE place for the underground to go to buy, sell and trade pit bulls. With an average of 394 pit bulls sold indiscriminately per month on SF CL Pets, its no wonder the breed is experiencing so much intense suffering. (Note: BAD RAP recorded 3,947 pit bulls sold on SF CL in a 10 month period. Additionally, our busy volunteers reach out to counsel approx 25 homes per month who are looking to re-home unwanted pit bulls on CL.)

With so many young and inexperienced people breeding pit bulls with little care for the welfare of the animals (or the communities that have to absorb the overflow), it's no wonder that we're seeing faulty, problematic individuals. The quote below came from a home that sold their 'bad seed' pit bull on Craigslist in December, 2004. "We heard he was doing great, at first, with the 4 year old. Then as she was walking down the stairs he jumped up and ran after her, knocking her to the ground. The parents got him back and thought maybe he was being playful. Shortly after that, the little girl was walking down the hallway and he went after her again. This time there was nothing "playful" about it. He was snarling, drooling, growling and all the hair on his back was up. He snapped at her to bite her face and the dad got him back in time before he made contact. The mom grabbed the daughter and put her in the bedroom, closing the door. Apparently, after that he started ramming himself into the door trying to bust it open. They got him downstairs to a safe room and called us immediately. They were scared out of their minds." This ill-bred dog never should have been born, much less sold to a family with a child. After consulting with our BR Reps, he was humanely euthanized. When we asked Craig if we could publish the breeder's name on Pets to warn others, the response was, "That's currently against our policy." This breeder continues to use Craigslist to sell his dogs.

Craig, on October 27, 2004, we met with you and a CL staffer and received a promise of help. You agreed to engage your current Terms of Use policy against selling live animals and make it harder to sell dogs online. We were elated. Several humane organizations agreed with you. Your Terms of Use guideline is wise: Selling pets online is too risky and sets animals up for too much potential cruelty and misuse.

Since our meeting - much to our disappointment - you've pulled back on your promise and the Pets sales continue, business as usual. The suffering we describe is real and can only improve if and when community leaders care enough to lend their hearts and their brainpower to positive solutions. Please be the leader that we know you are in this situation. We're counting on you to do the right thing.

With Hope,

If you'd like to send your thoughts, ideas or comments contact:
Craig Newmark