SEYMOUR (NBC 26) — Our Pack Animal Rescue Inc. says their Facebook page was falsely banned after their posts were reported for "nudity" and "selling animal parts."
- Our Pack's Facebook page was removed after being flagged for “nudity” and “selling animal parts”
- The page had nearly 20,000 followers and was essential for connecting adopters with pets
- The rescue created a new page but is struggling to rebuild its audience, which is affecting adoption rates
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web)
Our Pack Animal Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to finding homes for animals in Northeast Wisconsin, is facing a tough road ahead after their Facebook page was unexpectedly removed. The page, which had nearly 20,000 followers, was an essential tool in connecting potential adopters with pets in need.
Corey Hetherington, a long-time volunteer with the rescue, says the Facebook page has been a major part of their efforts since it was created in 2019. “I mean, we almost had 20,000 followers, and anybody who does anything on social media knows how big of a deal that is,” Hetherington said.
But on January 27th, Hetherington logged into the page to find a disturbing message. The page was flagged for violating Facebook’s terms of service, claiming the group was selling animal parts. Hetherington appealed the warning, but the next day, the page was permanently removed.
“The final straw was we made a post about a puppy looking for his forever home. And it immediately got flagged as nudity. It was just a puppy’s face. It wasn’t anything else,” Hetherington said.
Since the page was removed, the rescue has created a new Facebook page, but it is struggling to rebuild its audience. Newer volunteers, like Shado LaCount, worry the group’s visibility is affecting the adoption process. “It takes a village, you know? Raising families, also raising puppies, and finding these puppies homes,” LaCount said.
Hetherington and LaCount say the dogs aren’t getting adopted as quickly as before, which is much harder on the animals than on the volunteers.
"I mean, it's like raising a family, right? Raising these puppies to help them find their forever homes it takes a village."
The group is still working on building back its social media presence, but the process is slow. NBC 26 reached out to Facebook and Meta for comment, but we have not heard back.
For more information on how you can help Our Pack Animal Rescue, you can visit them here.
