Is it wrong?

  • Thread starter Thread starter PatchesMom
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

PatchesMom

Ok I know that a lot of you have read my previous post about going to a pet shop in my town that owns and sells more snakes than anything and I went in because she had GP's.. Is it wrong of me to want to buy they 3 babies because I am afraid they are gonna become snake food? Its like GP's are addictive. I got one, only wanted one, then I got Chewy on saturday and now I want to get more, and not just because of my fear, but because I want more... Is it wrong of me? :-\ or am I nuts? 98)
 
Hi, I dont think its wrong if you can afford to look after them and have the time/space and resources to look after them properly :)and being slightly nuts does help ;D but just remember if you buy these the pet shop will likely get more in, will you buy those too and then the ones after that?
Love
Sarah & the mob ;D
 
PatchesMom said:
Ok I know that a lot of you have read my previous post about going to a pet shop in my town that owns and sells more snakes than anything and I went in because she had GP's.. Is it wrong of me to want to buy they 3 babies because I am afraid they are gonna become snake food? Its like GP's are addictive. I got one, only wanted one, then I got Chewy on saturday and now I want to get more, and not just because of my fear, but because I want more... Is it wrong of me? :-\ or am I nuts? 98)
Click to expand...

It's completely down to personal choice but if you buy the 3 that are there then your money will be used to buy 6 more for them to sell (obviously they cost less to buy in from breeders etc so they can buy more). Personally I wouldn't be happy with that and that's why I don't buy from pet shops.
 
I would say - in MY opinion - its a bad idea. As the others said, they will just be replaced. By buying them you are creating more demand which just meand there is even more rreason for some breeder to get another sow pregnant.
Best thing is to avoid going into and spending money in any pet shop that sells animals O0
 
I wouldn't say it's wrong as it is your choice, but with the thousands of guinea pigs in rescues needing a home then that is the way to go. :)
 
From my own personal viewpoint I would only have rescue and not buy from a petshop as I feel this encourages further breeding. As previous peeps have said it is down to personal choice :)
 
Its up individuals to decide what they want to do - I bought my 2 from a pet shop (and it was P@H which a lot of people hate - but I really like the shop I go to). However, all future piggies (and any other pets I get) will all come from rescue places as I am now more aware of the amount of animals looking for new homes.
 
As Daftscotslass says, its self perpetuating circle. If you buy them, they will be replaced with more. But i know how you feel. Every time I go into Pets @ home i sit mooning at the baby pigs they have, feeling sorry for them and hoping that they will eventually be bought by a responsible owner...

Its a tricky thing really. I got my two from a rescue, and am planning more (yay!) in the coming months. I wouldn't get them from anywhere else. I suppose you could argue without breeders, there wouldn't be any piggies anywhere for any of us to adopt, but i am by no means justifying mass breeding.

I wonder why it can't be licenced properly, to ensure the welfare of the piggies. My sister in law recently bough 2 tortoises. She could only get them from a registered breeder, who was the only registered breeder in southern england.

You'd have to think that if people were put to those lengths to get the pets they may take their welfare more seriously....
 
I have bought from a pet shop but i have also rescued. I also totally understand your addiction to GP's. Mines has went into over drive, haha. Do what you feel is best for you. xx
 
I know it's worrying about the guinea pigs but you might need to have a heart of stone over this. I often find pet shop pigs are mis sexed, may be pregnant, ill, have behavior issues etc. It's better to avoid the shop and buy somewhere without animals. This is what I do, then I don't feel bad about leaving any behind, nor am I giving the place money to buy more.
 
see in this area we dont have piggie rescues :'( :'( :'( I wish we did but both of mine have come from petshops that were very knowledgeable on gp's
 
You'd be surprised where you can find pigs in need of homes. Not surprisingly, wherever there are pet shops there are generally animals in need of homes. If you think a pet shop would sell them as snake food then I CERTAINLY wouldn't give them money if that's the sort of place it is.
 
Of course it isnt wrong of you to think about the poor guinea pigs I'm the same ;D

I would like to know if they are sold as food thats all and if its a yes i would buy them straight away as i really dont like that sort of thing or place that sell them not only for pets but for anything else as long as they get money :-\

Yes there may be rescues somewhere around your area so if you really want guinea pigs then you go there but like you said that pet shop and them piggies need rescuing from death if they are for snake food in my opinion :)
 
No one can tell you if it's right or wrong. Only you can decide where anhow you want to get your piggies. I would recommend going to a rescue but only you can decide. They are thousands of animals in need of a good home in rescue's and we cant rescue them all. Don't feel bad if you buy from a shop, we ahve either all done it or no someone who has. x
 
You might be rescuing a couple of pigs from death but in doing so dooming twice the amount to the same fate... would you buy them too? Would you buy the ones that replace them too? It's a self-perpetuating spiral when you buy from a shop. At least when you rescue you know that the space will only be filled by another in need.
 
I'd say it's more than twice as many that will be replaced, as the pet shops pay the breeders approx £5 per pig, and they tend to sell for about £20 each these days.
 
daftscotslass said:
in doing so dooming twice the amount to the same fate
Click to expand...

I’m no fan of P@H. Whilst they may appear to have ‘cleaned up their act’ a bit, my greatest concern is that the badly bred, sickly pigs they sell come from large scale breeding establishments. (I have been told that these are not necessarily even in the UK but I have no proof of that – does anyone have any more information on this?) The potential for the spread of infection when shipping such large numbers of pigs around the country (countries?) is frightening. It may well have been the cause of outbreaks of Chlamydia last year and any other infections that are ‘doing the rounds’.

There are plenty of reasons for not buying pigs from P@H but I’m afraid the maths/business model I see repeatedly quoted on several forums isn’t helping the cause. It is simply wrong and it could make some people appear a little fanatical.

Normal market forces relate to guinea pigs in the same way as they relate to everything else that is ever sold. The purchase of ONE pig will result in ONE more being purchased to fill the space. Sorry but the purchase of a £20 pig does not mean that the shop then goes and buys four pigs at £5 each from their source, sells those at £20 each and then buys in sixteen to replace them. Business just doesn’t happen in that way. If it did, this exponential rise in animals would mean that we couldn’t get into P@H because they’d be jamming the doors.

By all means explain to people the real reasons that you would not support the purchase of animals from P@H but don’t invent very dubious ones.
 
It's not just P@H that sells pigs obviously they range from £9.95 to the higher priced pigs in P@H of £19.95. Out of that wages have to be paid, etc etc. Buying the pigs from pet shops just frees up space to replace the ones sold. I wouldn't say buying 1 allows P@H and the like to buy 4 businesses don't work like that but buying any number of pigs gives them the opportunity to replace the ones sold.

Juniper I do worry about the larger breeding establishments too! I've seen enough on the American forums to make me think that it happens here as well.
 
I have never seen a guinea pig in recent times in a pet shop for less than £18.

I agree it isn't just about Pets at Home. In fact, the smaller pet shops around my area are far worse.
 
i paid £14 for merlin. and when i went and got the 2 satin girls from the pet shop they were only £8 each :o :o thats the least i have seen a piggy for
 
A small pet shop here sells boars for £9.95 and girls for £12.95 another shop sells boars for £12.00 and sows for £14.95.

Yes a totally agree the smaller petshops in this area are worse, I've seen a dead hamster in one of mine. And the less said about the other 2 the better.

But you know at the end of the day some people don't have a choice, there aren't rescues in every area and I don't think people should be insulted because they buy from pet shop. I once saw a 3 year old boar in a petshop and regret to this day not getting him. :)
 
the smaller pet shops seem to buy in cheap piggies which are often bred with the brother or father. To be honest can you ever trust where you get a piggie from?
 
Juniper said:
I’m no fan of P@H. Whilst they may appear to have ‘cleaned up their act’ a bit, my greatest concern is that the badly bred, sickly pigs they sell come from large scale breeding establishments. (I have been told that these are not necessarily even in the UK but I have no proof of that – does anyone have any more information on this?)
Click to expand...


Lol, how on earth did this thread manage to be about P@H again, when it wasn't even about P@H in the first place?! ;D

Anyway, no, they are not brought in from abroad, they are all bred in the UK. They aren't even all from one place, there are several different breeders all around the country.

Also agreed with everybody else, don't give this shop money for their piggies. There are plenty of other pigs in rescues who need a 2nd chance :)
 
daftscotslass said:
You might be rescuing a couple of pigs from death but in doing so dooming twice the amount to the same fate... would you buy them too? Would you buy the ones that replace them too? It's a self-perpetuating spiral when you buy from a shop. At least when you rescue you know that the space will only be filled by another in need.
Click to expand...

Agree.


I think its far better to go to a rescue then think about "rescuing" them from a pet shop. as at the end of the day they will soon fill that free pen with yet more poor guinea pigs from a back street breeder :( :tickedoff:
 
It's a pity more pet shops don't hike their prices. Then at least it would go something towards discouraging people from making impulse buys.
 
One pet shop here even lowered prices over Christmas on the buns so they could shift them quicker!
 
Most pet shops around here are high priced which is good but they wander why no one buys them and then they just get rid of them somehow and they get baby ones :P dont no where the others go ?
 
i would hazzard a guess that the bunnies would be used for greyhound training or end up at the butchers. i can understand both side of this as have had store bought piggies as here in australia we don't have rescues for piggies, and usually the piggies have had health problems and don't live for very long. in fact zoe at 3.8 years old is the oldest store bought piggy we have had and she was $8.00(about 3 pounds). breeding piggies is not popular here in oz either though show piggies are. so here we have to buy our piggies where we can. we always try to buy from a breeder so can see their set up, other piggies etc. do what you think is right, if you want to buy the piggies then go for it, who is to say the shop won't feed them to the snakes and buy more anyway. follow your heart and good luck. hugs and cuddles :smitten: :smitten: girls send :-* :-* :-*
 
I understand all of you going on about getting rescue pigs, and I do not want to walk on anyone shoes, but at the end of the day each piggy is a life and they all deserve homes, pet shop or rescue, its up to the individual what route they go down. Sometimes pet shop pigs need a home more as they are in such horrible conditions. And if you did not buy that poor pig someone else will, its never going to stop, as its a continuous circle. Not a good one either! I have rescued piggies before and bought from pets at home, but at the end of the day I gave a piggy a good home. I am not sure what I am trying to say, but I have said it. I guess the only thing that will stop pet shops is if they are not allowed to stock pets, but then breeders are still selling pigs too. Their will always be someone or some business selling pets. But a decline in larger chains might help some problems of cruelty when it comes to getting the stock and then looking after them while they are in their care. But then we will still have smaller chains of pet shops, but then they are limited with the amount of space, so they will not be able to have such a mass of pets for sale. But their are so many issues surrounding the sale of pets and how we obtain our pets. But its good to see a pig in a good home no matter where it came from. ;D
 
Agree with Charlenegfrank! I understand totally the importance of homing pigs from rescues, but it is very difficult to walk away from a poorly piggy that is suffering whether it is in a pet shop or not... I have a mix of shop and rescue piggies - I think I did the right thing by all of the little monkeys!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top