Dear Free Cycle

August 31, 2006

Dear Free Cycle Owners and Subscribers:

I am an Animal Rescuer. Today I was booted off my local Free-Cycle List for speaking out for the Animals

My local Free-Cycle List at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ValpoFreecycle/ Porter County, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 allows people to dispose of their pets on free-cycle. There is at least one post per day on the list from people wanting rid of their pets. As a voice for the animals, I along with many others, have pleaded with them on several occasions not to do this but our pleas fall on deaf ears. Many free-cycle communities already forbid this, Valpo refuses to. In an effort to educate people what could possibly happen to their give away pets, I post to the list once in awhile the dangers and truth about what may happen and offer my assistance in helping them find a good home for their pets that they do not want anymore. Today when I posted, I was booted OFF my local free-cycle list with no explanation.

It is an atrocity that you even allow these type of postings. In your mission statement you say:

Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community .

Please explain to me, what does dumping pets on free-cycle have to do with recycling and keep our landfills clean? Especially when there are safer ways to dispose of unwanted pets! Many of the local free-cycle groups already forbid this throughout the USA. PLEASE make it a policy with Free-Cycle to not allow the posting of free pets. I am sad to say, the group represented here in my community is a disappointment.

Free to a good home? A Death Sentence!

Unfortunately, "free" is too often seen as "worthless" in the eye of the beholder. This is how some people see your giveaway pet, this happens daily right in our communities:

FREE bait to train fighting dogs and greyhounds
FREE snake food
FREE sacrifice for satanic rituals
FREE animal for malicious pranks
FREE to a good home to breed indiscriminately
FREE fish bait
FREE money from the research lab
FREE animal to set on fire
FREE animal to insert a firecracker into

PLEASE don't offer your companions FREE to a good home unless you just don't care what happens to them. Volunteers who work endless hours to save pets from the horror of abuse and homelessness bring this message to you. If you do not want to take them to a shelter, please find a Rescue to take them.

We have a page full of all the Rescues we know of in Indiana on our website. One simple email or phone call will get that pet into a SAFE place immediately.

The Moderator of the Valparaiso, IN free-cycle list does not ever respond to free to good home pet postings to the entire group following your guidelines in Freecycle™ Pet Moderator's Handbook. I at least make attempts to try to help and educate people on the abuse of animals in our state and the dangers of just giving them away to anybody. PLEASE reconsider your policies.

Please join me in my campaign to be a voice for the animals by encouraging http://www.freecycle.org/ to change their policies. Email them at: info@freecycle.org

Thank you for your time, support and consideration. Permission to crosspost far and wide granted.

Barb Beck – Valparaiso, Indiana

A Voice for the Animals

Barb Beck - NW Indiana
Indiana Petite Paws Rescue Angels, Inc.
We are an approved 501(c)(3) organization.
http://www.petitepaws.org/

http://www.petitepawsrescue.petfinder.org

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PetRescueAlliance-NWIndiana/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianaRapidTransit/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/No-PuppyMills-IN/

For additional information, please visit PetRescue.com