Lost dogs at risk of being given away due to 'spam posts'

UK-based lost and found dog service provider DogLost UK has expressed concern as lost dogs are at risk of being given away because Facebook is labelling posts searching for their owners as spam, the media reported.

The members of DogLost UK are worried about this because of the "seven day rule" -- which means that if a lost cat or dog is not claimed by its owner within a week it legally becomes the property of the kennels and can be rehomed or even put down, reports telegraph.co.uk.

DogLost UK has 120,000 registered members, who rely on 40 regional Facebook groups to promote the whereabouts of missing pets by sharing pictures and information.

However, in the past few months the group's voluntary coordinators claim to have noticed a significant increase in the number of posts and personal accounts being listed as spam, and subsequently removed or locked.

"Any action by Facebook which restricts the circulation of posts of someone's lost dog reduces and hugely jeopardizes the likelihood of a dog being reunited with its owner," the website quoted Nik Oakley, DogLost UK's Communications Advisor, as saying.

A DogLost UK volunteer's account was allegedly suspended on three separate occasions after her activity was flagged as spam.

"If an account excessively posts the same content to a number of different groups, it may be reported for spam. If this continues, the account may be temporarily prevented from posting content in Groups," a Facebook spokesperson said.

Facebook has also advised that DogLost should share content on its official Page.

--IANS

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