Quote:
Originally Posted by momof2pigs  I may be wrong in this, but if every pet store ceased to stop sellling GP's then what?? You could only adopt?? Well that would be great except without the pets coming from the pet-stores in the first place, then there wouldn't be any to adopt either (unless the rescues got their pigs from hoarders or small time breeders. Either way, the pigs won't be coming from a reputable place). One depends on the other. Should only a select few people be licensed to sell GP with a spay/nueter contract?? How much would these rare GP's cost?? Could a person get a wide array of colors/breeds/patterns? |
Where do you think some of the Guinea Pigs in shelters/rescues come from? At work we get a number of Black Tag (ie. Cruelty Case) guinea pigs, that have been resuced from horrific situations. And as for ones that are surrendered, well, a lot of people that surrender animals (guinea pigs or other) lie about why they are surrendering them and the conditions they came from. I even know of a case where one of the rescues/shelters I work with found a guinea pig dumped on the side of the road!
In these situations the guinea pigs are treated by vets and not offered for adoption until they are in good health. As for the types of guinea pigs that would be available, I don't see how it would change if pet shops didn't sell guinea pigs. I have seven girls that all came from shelters/rescues the seven consist of two rexes, two short-haired piggies, one crested, one abby and one coronet. As for colours, well, I think I've seen pretty much everything come in at least once.
Quote:
|
Where people GET an animal should be a choice. Otherwise GP's will cost WAY MORE than most people would be willing to pay for an animal that lives 3-7 years at best.
|
I would love to see guinea pigs cost more. The cost of any animal doesn't stop cruelty, however it does make people stop and think if they can afford to keep it and care for it properly. If a guinea pig becomes ill it's not always "cheap" to provide proper vet care. I've lost count of the numbers of people I've had tell me they didn't provide proper vet care for their guinea pigs because "it cost too much for an animal I didn't pay much for in the first place" or "it was cheaper to replace it".