Please don't buy or sell animals online – Hayley Matthews

However, it still amazes me the amount of people who seem shocked when they learn about the terrible fate that can befall animals bought and sold on sites like Gumtree.

With Christmas coming there always seems to be more and more people looking to buy animals on these sites which fills me with dread.

Surely it's just common sense? You can't know for sure the true integrity of someone from a slithering of communication online, so be prepared for bad news.

After the recent case of a man who bought kittens online to be used to train dogs for dog-fighting, I can only beg each and every single one of you, never to sell animals online. It just opens up too many risks.

The same for buying animals online too. Often pups bought online have had a rough journey over here from far away, are ill, haven't been with their mother for long and don't live long.

So please, every year I say it, a pet isn't just for Christmas it's for life and if you want to genuinely give a pet a good home, or are looking for a home for a pet, for goodness sake don't do it through the internet.

You can never be sure of the hands that the animal will end up in, nor can you be sure of the hands the animal has come from.

When animals are not allowed to be bought and sold online, I'll be a happy bear.

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