eBay's egg ban ruffles feathers

A sudden shift in eBay's policy has left UK bantam breeders lost, with sellers like Carolann Pirie struggling to navigate the fallout. Cara Wheeldon explores what this means for backyard breeders, rare breeds, and poultry passion projects.

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In early 2024, eBay made a quiet but impactful change to its policies, banning the sale of hatching eggs through its UK platform. The move has since sent ripples through the small-scale poultry breeding community, particularly among hobbyists and bantam keepers who relied on the site as a safe and trusted marketplace.

One of those affected is Carolann Pirie, a 66-year-old garden centre manager from the northeast of Scotland, who has been breeding poultry for nearly a decade.

"I have been keeping poultry for eight years now and my focus is mainly on USA Silkies," Carolann explains. "They are still quite new in Scotland, and I have always had a surplus of hatching eggs I needed to get rid of because I breed for specific colours and feather types."

EBay had been her go-to marketplace for the past four to five years. It was a simple, user-friendly platform that helped her reach repeat customers interested in specific colours and feather types. But that all changed without proper warning.

LISTINGS REMOVED OVERNIGHT

"Probably about a month ago, I was made aware of the policy change," says Carolann. "A breeder friend of mine contacted me on Messenger and asked if I had had my listings removed too. When I checked, I saw that they had!"

Without prior notification to many users, eBay started removing all listings containing hatching eggs, citing concerns over live animal policies and potential misuse. "I was quite surprised, to be honest, I was not sure what was going on," Carolann adds. "We had no prior warning."

eBay's policy update means it has banned the sale of live animals, including pets, feeder animals, and hatching eggs, except for certain exceptions like live fish, bait, bees, crickets, and ladybugs when shipped in compliance with carrier requirements