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I Buy Strays Web Site is a HOAX!

ClydeSight Productions provides important information for cat, dog and animal lovers about I Buy Strays Web site hoax.

 

We have been greatly disturbed by news about a Web site called I Buy Strays which purports to purchase stray cats and dogs and sell them for medical research.

The site has become viral and big news in a very short period of time (It went up on Dec 21st 2007 and this page was written on Jan.4, 2008 - already there are thousands of posts in pet related forums and animal sites about the hoax.)

As a courtesy to our readers who may own a cat or dog, or who love animals and are upset by the Web site, we are posting this information.

It appears that the I Buy Strays (sometimes written as IBuyStrays) Web site is a hoax, written in inflammatory language, designed to stir strong emotions in pet owners, especially cat and dog owners, and animal lovers alike.

According to a report posted on the About.com Web site by the Guide to Urban Legends, the owners of IBuyStrays are claiming it is "militant satire", and they have no intention of buying and selling stray cats and dogs.

You can read the Urban Legends About.com report by clicking here.

The cats guide to About.com also has an excellent article about the IBuyStrays Hoax Web site. You can read it by clicking here.

 

We feel that I Buy Strays is a bad site because:

• It offers nothing of value

• It carries pet and animal related advertising that the advertisers themselves may not be aware of

• It stirs strong emotions and reactions in people who love cats and dogs or any animal and does it for no good purpose

• It has no privacy policy so anyone e-mailing them is at risk

 

Our Recommendations:

Support the Authorities Working on This to Take Appropriate Legal Action!

According to some forums, it seems that Google is well aware of complaints against the site, as are animal rights and protection organizations and legal agencies.

Let THEM manage the matter and take appropriate legal action where it applies on behalf of the Internet community. Google manages adwords and site listings, they have rules and legal requirements as well as connections with other search engines.

Animal rights and protection agencies know proper legal recourse for this type of situation. They will do what the law allows on behalf of the public.

Please don't go off on a tangent or emotional tirade or encourage others to do so. Remain calm and support the agencies who can manage this situation and who follow and apply the rule of law for the public good.

 

Don't Give "I Buy Strays" Publicity!

So what is the IBuyStrays Web site all about, -- is it really a "militant satire"? We don't think so as nothing they are doing falls within the usual definition of "satire", militant or otherwise.

We believe they are looking for TRAFFIC and PUBLICITY.

If that is the case, when you visit the site or write about it with a link, they get what they want.

When your emotional buttons have been pushed, it is hard to sit back and not respond. Obviously, the visions of what the hoax site suggests are repulsive to any cat or dog owner, or to any animal lover.

We believe the Web site owners are using your love and caring against you, to stir your emotions to gain publicity.

Here is why you don't want to give them any publicity, visit their site, or contact them:

• If you write to them, you will get on their mailing list. They have no privacy policy and you can be at risk of being put on mailing lists, having your e-mail address sold to others or even used without your consent.

• If you click on any ad on the I Buy Strays Web site, THE SITE MAKES MONEY -- and worse, the advertiser may get associated with that site. It is important to understand that many PPC - Pay Per Click advertisers often have no control where their ads will appear. Some of these advertisers sell good and helpful products for cats or dogs. They may not know their ad is on the IBuyStrays hoax web site.

• If any of the ads on I Buy Strays are PPI (Pay Per Impression) the SITE GETS PAID WHEN YOU VISIT the pages and the unwary advertiser has to foot the bill.

Note: Many advertising systems are automatic and based on keywords, such as "cat" or "dog". Advertisers may have their names associated with the hoax Web site and not know it because they are paying for the keyword association, not the location of the ad.

• If you tell friends to go there, you only increase the problem and add to the viral marketing nature of this thing.

• If you post comments on blogs and forums with links to the site, you only increase the problem, since others will be tempted to visit.

We understand that you may have terrible emotional pain from just the thought what the IBuyStrays Web site is suggesting, and want desperately to do something about it. Depending on what you do, you may actually wind up helping them by giving them what they want, which we believe is advertising revenue.

DON'T GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT -- IGNORE I BUY STRAYS!

 

If you feel you MUST do something, why not donate food, litter, money, time or other needed things to your local animal shelter and do it in the name of all the lost animals?

That would be a positive step, and it won't give the I Buy Strays Web site anything.

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Please Note:

If you wish to comment on our warning with your opinion and receive a response, please use our BLOG system at HubPages.

Please do not contact us about this matter via our Web site. We will not respond.