Barnsley Animal Rescue Charity ( BARC )
On the forum we always recommend that you adopt your Guinea Pigs from a reputable rescue, below is a post on BARC's Facebook page on the reasons why we do.
Thinking of getting some guinea pigs?
They are amazing little animals with big personalities and very easy to care for. BARC often have guinea pigs available for adoption, this post tells you a little about why you should adopt rather than buy guinea pigs.
Firstly, going to a pet shop or breeder to buy guinea pigs simply perpetuates the indiscriminate breeding of these animals often in atrocious welfare conditions. Many rescue pigs come from backyard breeders that have kept animals in cramped dirty conditions.
Secondly, it is a common scenario that guinea pigs bought as babies have been wrongly sexed, as a result unintended pregnancies often occur in guinea pigs from pet shops and breeders.
Finally, it is not uncommon that bought animals may have health problems, some of these are relatively easy to treat, such as mites, but this reflects the poor conditions the animals may have been kept in. Other health problems include fungal skin infections, which can spread to humans, dental problems due to poor diet and even scurvy (vitamin C deficiency).
At BARC, all guinea pigs are correctly sexed by an experienced person; they are quarantined, health checked and treated for parasites before being rehomed. All female guinea pigs are kept on a pregnancy watch ( minimum of 10 weeks) before they are rehomed.
At the moment we charge an adoption fee of £15 for an unneutered guinea pig and £30 for a neutered boar.
If you buy a guinea pig and it gets ill or is pregnant , then it costs around £20 for an initial vet consultation plus the cost of treatments for mites or fungal infection. A pregnant guinea pig can develop complications needing a caesarian section, this may cost over a £100. Neutering a boar costs around £80 and you have to wait 6 weeks before you can introduce him to a female.
Why risk all this expense, stress and suffering of the animal when you can adopt a pair of healthy guinea pigs for £30? (cheaper than buying 2 pigs from a well known pet store). Plus you have lifetime support and advice from BARC.
We sometimes have baby guinea pigs needing homes, but we will not rehome them before 8 weeks of age.
Here are some photos of some of the lovely pigs that BARC have rehomed over the past few years.
On the forum we always recommend that you adopt your Guinea Pigs from a reputable rescue, below is a post on BARC's Facebook page on the reasons why we do.
Thinking of getting some guinea pigs?
They are amazing little animals with big personalities and very easy to care for. BARC often have guinea pigs available for adoption, this post tells you a little about why you should adopt rather than buy guinea pigs.
Firstly, going to a pet shop or breeder to buy guinea pigs simply perpetuates the indiscriminate breeding of these animals often in atrocious welfare conditions. Many rescue pigs come from backyard breeders that have kept animals in cramped dirty conditions.
Secondly, it is a common scenario that guinea pigs bought as babies have been wrongly sexed, as a result unintended pregnancies often occur in guinea pigs from pet shops and breeders.
Finally, it is not uncommon that bought animals may have health problems, some of these are relatively easy to treat, such as mites, but this reflects the poor conditions the animals may have been kept in. Other health problems include fungal skin infections, which can spread to humans, dental problems due to poor diet and even scurvy (vitamin C deficiency).
At BARC, all guinea pigs are correctly sexed by an experienced person; they are quarantined, health checked and treated for parasites before being rehomed. All female guinea pigs are kept on a pregnancy watch ( minimum of 10 weeks) before they are rehomed.
At the moment we charge an adoption fee of £15 for an unneutered guinea pig and £30 for a neutered boar.
If you buy a guinea pig and it gets ill or is pregnant , then it costs around £20 for an initial vet consultation plus the cost of treatments for mites or fungal infection. A pregnant guinea pig can develop complications needing a caesarian section, this may cost over a £100. Neutering a boar costs around £80 and you have to wait 6 weeks before you can introduce him to a female.
Why risk all this expense, stress and suffering of the animal when you can adopt a pair of healthy guinea pigs for £30? (cheaper than buying 2 pigs from a well known pet store). Plus you have lifetime support and advice from BARC.
We sometimes have baby guinea pigs needing homes, but we will not rehome them before 8 weeks of age.
Here are some photos of some of the lovely pigs that BARC have rehomed over the past few years.
