Stopping Pet Shops selling live animals

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sophiew (EAGPR)

sophiew (EAGPR)

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Just a discussion, really...

When I was little, in the UK, Petshops used to sell all sort of pets - tortoises, puppies, kittens etc. as well as the usual small animals. Obviously tortoises became protected / endangered and pet shops stopped selling them.

Was it 'public outcry' that stopped puppies and kittens being sold in petshops? What stared the backlash?

Pets at Home in the early days sold kittens I think - and exotic birds etc. They seem to have stopped selling birds (parakeets, budgies, finches) in the last couple of years - does anyone know why?

I don't know why it is 'acceptable' for small furries to be sold in petshops, full stop. I don't think anyone should be able to 'impulse buy' any live animal. In my opinion, all animals should only be available from reputable (licensed) breeders or from rescues. Then if someone really wants one, they'd have to make the effort to go and get one!

Found this article online from a couple of years ago when Wyevale (second biggest UK garden centre chain) stopped selling animals:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...ing+animals+after+welfare+pressure/article.do

Would it be possible to do the same for Pets at Home?

Meanwhile, I think everyone should seriously consider where they are spending their money and whether it is better to buy your animal supplies from petshops / garden centres that don't support the live animal trade. Every little bit helps?

Sophie
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I totally agree with everything you have said Sophie. I buy my hay from The Range and they do not sell animals. I get their food from either wilkinsons or a supermarket and very rarely buy from pet shops (that sell live animals) unless it is really needed. We have friends who live in London so I have been to Harrods a fair few times. In their pet department, they sell exotic birds, kittens and puppies as well as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils. The only thing that I don't mind about Harrods pet department is that they only have it open at certain times of the day so that the animals can rest and not be constantly gwarped at.
I also feel that there is a lot of ignorance as I myself have brought pets from pet shops. I got my Eliza from Pets at home but this was before I joined this forum. I wouldn't change her for the world but do wish I hadn't been so ignorant xx
 
And the other thing about Harrods is they're too damn expensive for most people! Last time I went, Jack Russel puppies and the cats they had for sale were £1000!

I've bought piggies from petshops too - but what worries me is 'pester power' from children who want a pet, the parents give in, then 6 months later they're advertising them 'free to good home' mallethead
 
i totally agree with the pester power, i was in a pet shop a while back and a woman and her 2 kids came in, saw a rabbit they liked and were pesterting her to buy it, she was looking at a nero 2 cage for it and moaning that it would cost £40 to buy. I told her that i foster for the RSPCA, the importance to vaccinate, spay etc and also to be in a bonded pair. I told her to get a bonded pair that had all vaccs etc was £50 from us. She went off moaning how £50 was a stupid amount of money and she bought the pet shop one.

I was so annoyed with the pet shop as they sold her a nero 2 to go with the bun and the bun was not a small breed.

Another time i complained to the desk that there was no Hay in with the buns and g.p, she said oh thats strange i put some in at 11 (it was 1 o clock) oh well she says they must have eaten it so they will have to wait till tomorrow now as they only get it once a day!
 
That's the trouble - they're too cute to be on display, like sweets at the checkout in the supermarket! rolleyes

Chichillas worry me too - I didn't realise they were so long-lived, there is no way they should be purchased on impulse

Sophie
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I totally agree with you - I shall not be buying any more pets from any pet shops - I have had a few problems with most of the ones I got from P&H and even our local pet store, so we will be going to a rescue in the future.
 
T.V need to bring back programmes like 'Pet Rescue' to make people more aware of rescues so that Pet shops can stop selling 'live pets'........
I totally agree that ALL pet shops should NOT sell animal or birds.....
 
I think that article was really good and I agree with everything you said Sophie.

In my personal experience my local Pets at Home has always appeared to have taken care of the animals that are available for buying on the shop floor (this doesn't make me agree with it). My concerns are with wee local pet shops and garden centres - in my experience that is where the problems lie.

I now no longer buy from pet stores that stock live animals but I'm quite lucky in that there is a pet supply shop about 1 mile from me - it doesn't stock much as it is really small but it's enough to get by. Anything special I need I just get from the internet - fair enough, I have postage to pay but I have to travel about 12 miles to get to my local P@H anyway and I try to buy from websites where you get free postage if you spend over a certain amount.
 
I agree with everything said so far. I am (almost!) ashamed that I bought many of my piggies from PAH"), but I can claim a degree of ignorance back then (although I wouldn't accept it now).

I have had 3 piggies from a little girl who decided after 18 months she didn't want them. She had separated them because they hit puberty (what a joy!), but I managed to get them all back together (they were brothers) with no problems. (All have now been reunited over the rainbow bridge). They had obviously become 'too much work' for her & she decided she had had enough! Why buy them if you can't look at the long term?! They live on avaergae 4-7 years & my eldest piggy was 8 years old when he died. You can't decide after a few months or a year that you have 'had enough'! Sorry, off my soap box now! grrrr

But that is where pet shops fail big time. They don't tell people that information. When I bought my very first piggy no one told me that I had to have a second to keep him company. To make matters worse when I found out from a friend I had to get a second pig they refused to sell me another male unless I had the first pig neutered first. So I went to another shop & got a very handsome boy & they lived happily together for 7 years without neutering. :))

On top of that PAH keep rabbits & guineas together. Don't get me started on that one! AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

I only wish I had known about rescues at the beginning of my life with piggies but that said, I have no regrets about having the boys I have had from pet shops. Especially my Aragon, who was left alone & I got him around 5 months old because as the assistant said 'no-one wants a pig who isn't a cute baby anymore. He is too big'. Talk about a load of rubbish & he gave me a lot of happiness for 3 years before he went over the bridge. Big pigs are just as wonderful as baby pigs! x)x)
 
sophiew said:
That's the trouble - they're too cute to be on display, like sweets at the checkout in the supermarket! rolleyes

Chichillas worry me too - I didn't realise they were so long-lived, there is no way they should be purchased on impulse

Sophie
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Click to expand...

It's the same with Degus and chipmonks. They are specialist animals and really shouldn't be sold in pet shops :(
 
Pet shops that keep rabbits and guinea pigs together on display, bedded on straw, wood-shavings and sawdust.....These are most definitely not my favourite things.
I have also noticed that most, if not all, the assistants have "kept pigs and rabbits at home for many years and never had problems. Besides which, the company vet. says the conditions are acceptable and only they are qualified to say so". I was asked once if I were a vet. I replied "No, that is why I know something about guinea pigs".
I have been "asked to leave" many pet-shops....surprise, surprise!
I did contact the RPCA whose response was to say that the public should complain to the relevant local authority who could refuse to renew the shop licence to keep animals on the premises.
 
sophiew said:
Pets at Home in the early days sold kittens I think - and exotic birds etc. They seem to have stopped selling birds (parakeets, budgies, finches) in the last couple of years - does anyone know why?
Click to expand...

Wasn't it because of bird flu?
 
madmush said:
I agree with everything said so far. I am (almost!) ashamed that I bought many of my piggies from PAH"), but I can claim a degree of ignorance back then (although I wouldn't accept it now).
Click to expand...

Don't worry, my 2 girls are from P@H too. From what I've learnt on this forum though I would never buy from any pet shop again.
 
Yeah I asked about the birds in Pets at Home and was told it was because of bird flu! Do you think we can make up a pig flu and stop them selling pigs!

That said I wouldnt be without Twinkle and Pudsey but I wouldn't get pets there again not after all I went through with Cuzzy!

Sunshine was from a pet shop housed with a rabbit I was told he would kill a guinea but could live with a Nethie! The way our Tika kicks I couldn't imagine putting them together, it seems mad to me!

One local petshop here that is really bad in all honesty and sells cats as well as the small furries has improved, they house guineas and rabbits seperatly now and I am fine with this. I don't for one second think we can ever stop pets being sold in shops but a greater understanding of their care is needed.

Harrods selling pets...well I never knew that!
 
Puppies, kittens, guineas, rabbits, hamsters when I was there :(

Better than they used to be though - they used to sell lion cubs! There was a programme last week

Sophie
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What?! Lion cubs? What on earth were they thinking. I have never seen puppies/kittens for sale in any pet shop in Scotland - I'm maybe just lucky in that I've never come across it. Up until 6 months ago I had actually thought it was illegal to sell them in pet shops.
 
there is a pet shop that my mum goes to and they are selling marmosets (monkeys!) it made me really angry as i would love a monkey but they belong in the wild and i believe no one should be allowed to keep them as a pet and these monkeys dont even requie a liscence!

i bought my first piggy from a petshop but would never do so agen and bought my second from a local girl.
i agree that you should not be allowed to impulse buy!
 
Thanks goodness that there is a forum like this to educate each other about these concerns & also help us care for our wonderful little piggies! Reading through various posts in different threads the amount of people who say they wouldn't buy from pet shops (myself included now) is obviosuly growing. Of course not everyone comes here, but some do which is great!

As many have said, it this those who decide to buy a guinea pig (or other animal) as they would like sweets from in front of the till in a supermarket - on a whim & because they look nice, who are more concerning, because they are looking at the here & now rather than the future. But I think that is a reflection on life as it is nowadays - instant gratification, without the work.

Maybe pet shops should make you complete a home assessment & paperwork like the RSPCA? At least that way they would be more responsible about who they are selling the animals too. Especially the animals who live longer lives or need specific care. Just a thought. ?/?/?/
 
i suppose i was quite lucky for having parents who wouldnt give in to me! i was terrible for going into pet shops and pleading with my rents to have a pet! they only allowed me to have a pet when i was about 12-13 and when i was responsible enough to keep it. but.. before i got one (a hamster) they bought me a book on how to keep hamsters and tested me thoughly on the book untill i practically knew it off by heart! i then had to buy the cage, cleaning stuff, food everything myself. only then was i allowed to have a hamster.
my parents have never cleaned out or looked after one of my pets since then, ive done it all myself. only when i went to uni did my mum look after my hamster as i couldnt take it with me! (so sad about that!) she only looks after the pig when i have to go do farm work for my course and have to stay on the farm for a few weeks!


different point here.. about piggies and rabbits living to gether. it shouldnt be done full stop. yet Bob Martin (this brand really winds me up and gets me angry) sells food for "guinea pigs AND rabbits" even though they have completly different nutritional needs! talk about encouragement for them to be kept together! grrr :)>>>
 
When I was about 12, and used to get the bus home from school with my best friend (also animal-mad), I bought all sorts of animals home - the petshops didn't ever ask if I had permission back then (we're talking 20 years ago) - I had hamsters, mice, rats... I look back in horror now! They were all well looked after but it makes you wonder how many others were bought by children that didn't look after them.

A large garden centre near us that sells animals (in good conditions etc.) makes you fill in a big form and show two proofs of address ID before allowing you to buy one - I think this is good, as it makes people take it seriously.

Sophie
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We were in a garden centre near Birmingham last week and overheard the sales assistant giving a couple advice on keeping a boar. The garden centre does homechecks and the assistant was really firm on the guinea pigs needs.

If only all pet shops did the same....
 
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