All ads posted in the Gumtree Pets section must comply with our pets policies and the Pets Code of Practice set out below. Any ads found to be breaching applicable laws and reported to us for breaching these laws will be removed from Gumtree.

Advertising an Animal on Gumtree
 
Age restrictions apply for certain types of pets advertised and animals must have reached a certain age before being advertised on Gumtree.

• Dogs: must be at least 8 weeks old when sold/adopted, and the date of birth (DOB) must be included in the ad

• Cats: must be at least 8 weeks old when sold/adopted, and the date of birth (DOB) must be included in the ad

• Rabbits: must be at least 6 weeks old when sold/adopted, and the age must be included in the ad

• Guinea Pigs: must be at least 4 weeks old when sold/adopted, and the age must be included in the ad

• Mice and Rats: must be at least 4 weeks old when sold/adopted, and the age must be included in the ad (Note: sale of mice as pet food is prohibited)

• Birds: All birds must be fully self-sufficient at time of rehoming and this must be stated in the ad

• No birds may be sold for hand-rearing.

• We don't allow ads that offer or want animals for swap or trade.

• All dogs, puppies, cats or kittens must include a minimum price of R100; free to home listings will not be permitted.

• We don't allow ads for pregnant animals (with the exception of livestock).

• Dogs and cats put up for adoption/sale on Gumtree must be vaccinated AND vet checked.Please note, both vet checked and vaccinated must be stated in the ad.Gumtree may request documentation to confirm vaccination and vet check status.

• All pet ads must state the exact breed/crossbreed/species of animal advertised.With crossbreeds, please include as much information as possible.

• Dogs & cats put up for adoption, are 6 months and older ,and sold in the Cape metro region must be sterilised. Owners must mention that the pet has been sterilised in the ad description. The only exception is if the owner/breeder has a special permit to advertise the cat/dog without being sterilised. If this is the case, the permit has to be mentioned in the ad description.

• We do not allow holding deposits of any kind for animals that are advertised on the Gumtree site.

• Pets may only be advertised by their owners.

• Litters must be advertised separately. One ad may not advertise multiple litters.

• We do not allow the sale of any animal vaccines.


Shelters

Shelters must post from a single, centralised account. As with national business concerns, if an organisation has multiple branches, like the SPCA, each branch will be allowed an account, provided it has different contact details.

Shelters/organisations must identify themselves when advertising pets(Shelters may be required to provide NGO/NPO documentation in certain instances).

Foster homes may not advertise pets on behalf of shelters.


Primates and Exotic Animals
 
Advertisements offering or requesting the sale of primates are not permitted on Gumtree, these include but are not limited too; Lemurs, Loris, Bush Babies, Marmosets, Capuchins and other monkeys.

If you're selling an exotic animal you must mention in your ad that the buyer of the animal needs to obtain a permit to transport the animal before it can be sold. 


Animals That Can't Be Sold on Gumtree

Indigenous and introduced animals that are not legal for sale cannot be advertised on Gumtree; this includes the following:

• African penguins (endangered - critical red list)

• Any species of venomous or dangerous spiders/scorpions.

• Axolotls

• Bush Pigs

• Cockatoos, Macaws, African Greys and birds of prey or birds requiring permits

• Caracal and Serval

• Chameleons

• Coati Mundi

• Corals

• Crows

• Dangerous large predators (e.g. lions, tigers, pumas etc.)

• Dassies

• Donkeys

• Duiker, impala, springbok, eland

• Eels

• Ferrets

• Foxes

• Fresh water crayfish

• Guineafowls

• Hedgehogs

• Indian mynahs

• Jackals

• Mallard ducks (Invasive species – NEM BIODIVERSITY ACT 10 -2004)

• Meerkats

• Moles, okapi, oribi (endangered - critical red list)

• Mongooses

• Obt tarantulas

• Ostriches

• Owls

• Pigs that are advertised as being "teacup"

• Poisonous animals

• Racoons

• Ringnecks

• Shews, otters (vulnerable list)

• Sloths

• Squirrels

• Sugar gliders

• Sun conure

• Tenrecs

• Terrapins

• Tortoises and turtles

• Vertebrate feeder animals (live or frozen)

• Waxbills

• Wolves, timber wolves, dingos, coyotes, or hybrids thereof

• Any animal listed within the CITES 1 guidelines or NEMBA alien and invasive prohibited list(See PDF attached)

The following species of snakes cannot be advertised on Gumtree:

• Anacondas

• Any venomous or dangerous snake

• Arora house snake

• Boa Constrictors / Red Tail Boas

• Brown house snake

• Burmese pythons

• Egg eaters

• File snakes

• Herald/red-lipped snakes

• Mole snakes

• Olive house snake

• Pythons

• Reticulated pythons

• Skaapstekers

• Tiger snakes

The following breeds of dog cannot be advertised on Gumtree:

• American Bullies

• American Pit Bull Terriers

• American Staffordshire Terriers

• Bandogge/Bandog

• Black & Ysterberg Mastiffs

• Boerboels / South African Mastiffs

• Bloemenweiler/Blumenweiler

• Bull Terriers

• Cane Corsos/Italian Mastiff

• Dogo Argentino (Argentinian fighting dogs)

• Fila Brasileiro (Brazilian fighting dogs)

• Japanese Tosas

• MiPerro de Presa Canario

• Pit Bull Terriers

• Red/blue nose Carver

• Rottweilers

• Staffordshire Terriers or "Staffies"

• Wolves

• Cross breed dogs including any of the above breeds

Docked tail and cropped ear pets are not allowed on Gumtree, this is a prohibited practice and Gumtree does not accept ads of this nature.

We don't allow ads that make reference to "racing dogs", "game dogs" or "game bloodlines".

Ads looking for or offering security/watch, fighting or hunting dogs. 

We don't allow ads for "conditioning" equipment for dogs, including flirt poles, spring poles, dog treadmills, chest protectors, hunting jackets or shock collars.

Russian Blue cats cannot be advertised on Gumtree.

The pets section is NOT intended to facilitate uncontrolled breeding, irresponsible commercial pet trading, trade of dogs or any other animal for the purpose of fighting or stud services. .For this reason, dog breeders are permitted to post a maximum of three breeds only on Gumtree (including mixed breeds). Posting more than three, even if only three are advertised on the site at one time, is not permitted.Any ads suspected of this kind of activity will be removed.

Adopting/Buying a pet on Gumtree

• Meet the poster of the ad before agreeing to anything. Since Gumtree is local to your community, this should be easy to arrange. Never buy a pet from someone who is unwilling to let you see how and where the animal is living!

• If you are paying for a pet, never mail a cheque or use payment services like Bidpay, Western Union or Money Gram to pay for your pet. It is our belief that these forms of funds transfer are favoured by fraudsters. Be particularly wary of any seller who demands a deposit prior to seeing the pet. Meet the seller in person, and pay cash.

• Visit your local SPCA or other reputable animal rescue organizations for tips on identifying responsible practices.

• Know who you are sourcing the pet from and if it is a breeder, confirm with the relevant organizations that their license is recognised.

• Check that no animals were used in excessive breeding programs, or programs which produce deformed or weak offspring.

• If in doubt contact your local SPCA and let us know by opening a Case

• For tips and advice when considering adopting or buying a pet, please see our article on Gumtree Guide to Responsible Animal Ownership

Gumtree has made these policies with the well-being of animals in mind, and had constructed these policies in collaboration with the SPCA, Beauty without Cruelty (an animal rights organization), Ban animal trading, FOUR PAWS Animal Welfare Foundation, and the Gumtree community.