However, this system is a money-making opportunity for unscrupulous businessmen who offer “pet installment” plans.
One such store, located in the city of Guangzhou in southeastern Guangdong province, claims to offer “free adoption,” with tags attached to each animal indicating the amount of money that must be spent at the store as a condition of adopting the pet. is attached to.
Adopters must agree to spend a certain amount each month on pet products from the shop's online store before taking the animal home.
For example, adopting a blue cat from the store will come with a monthly price tag of 500 yuan (US$70), for a total of 12,000 yuan (US$1,700) over two years. This is much more expensive than simply buying a cat from another store.
“This is primarily to prevent people from abusing or abandoning cats after taking them home,” pet store staff told Newsweekly, justifying the two-year “installment plan.” said when asked.
Additionally, many of the pet supplies sold in online shops are sold at prices that are higher than the market price.
The price of a certain 2kg bag of imported cat food is about 60 yuan more than on Taobao, an e-commerce platform run by Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post.
Adopters are also required to sign a contract stating that if their pet dies or becomes lost within two years, they cannot cancel the contract.
This means they could end up paying for an animal they don't own.
Guangdong Provincial Radio and Television Station reported on January 31 that a customer adopted a Maine Coon cat and fixed an automatic monthly payment of 800 yuan for 24 months, even though the cat died in an accident just a few months later. It is said that it was done.
The health of the cats is also a cause for concern, with many customers reporting that the pets they brought home were sick.
“They're trying to trick people into paying for two years of cat food and litter under the pretext of free adoption, which ends up costing more. Dogs and cats are unhealthy. It's all a scam. ” said one customer on a prominent Chinese review platform, Dianping.
The plan has been widely criticized on mainland social media.
“Free? Would such a large operation really give it away for free? This is just a sales ploy, not charity,” one official said.
“This is not an animal adoption. For the actual adoption, it is enough to send a video or photos showing how the dog or cat looks after adoption,” said another.
