Grocery Store pets

[kestagano04]

I know what you mean also, about it being hard with meijer. I've been grocery shopping there for years and my mom did throughout my childhood. But I completely disagree with them selling animals. There is no need for it at all. I think we should petition them. Or something of that nature and if it comes down to it, I would be willing to boycott.

[mscavyclosed]

Meijer just opened a store acrossed from the local Grocery store here last spring. I've been there often and see they have fine bedding and food and water for the animals, but the cages are small. I've never seen them in bad shape either. I don't even like Wal-Mart or Meijer even though their merchandise are dirt cheap.

[Slave to the Wheek]

For those of you who don't know where to start, here is a good place. The Animal Protection Institute

Little Shops of Sorrows: API's Pet Shop Campaign and Undercover Investigation

It's where I first learned of the new California law that was passed last week. They can help direct you where to go and what you can do.

Also something to consider:

Veterinarian's do not consider guinea pigs as rodents. They call them "exotics" and while they indeed may BE a rodent, they should not, and indeed likely ARE NOT excluded from the laws which exclude rodents.

THAT is one thing I would certainly look into contesting. I'm afraid I don't have time to look into it, but one could certainly do some research to determine precisely whether Guinea Pigs are "legally" considered rodents. If one wanted to complain to a pet store, they could certainly tell them that the law protects them, with the justification the Guinea Pigs are not included in the rodent category ..
Guinea pigs are an "exotic" since they cannot live wild in the usa due to their lack of defenses, strict vegetarian diet, and inability to handle the temperature extremes. (they are from temperate South America).

Also, one could contest leaving rodents out of the law entirely and seek to have the laws amended using the methods at the Animal Protection Institute.

Personally, I don't ever see anything come from online petitions. It's got to be something that is public. Either get a local newscast to cover it, or stand out front handing out leaflets to those going into the store would have a far larger impact.

[evilnumberlady]

I believe that vet care isn't required for any animals in Michigan pet stores, and proper housing is only for cats and dogs so even if they aren't "rodents" it still doesn't do much good

[Slave to the Wheek]

If the Animal Cops Detroit is any indication of the pet situation in Michigan there is a ton of work that folks need to do.

Here in Northern California I haven't seen a pet store that will sell dogs/cats in at least 10 years. Wait! I take that back, about 5 years ago I saw one in Sacramento. Every time I went in there, I complained and noticed others who did too. The store was out of business within 6 months. The people were not from California and couldn't handle it.

The public pressure is soo intense here and people get so angry at them for having them in the store because there have been massive public campaigns to make people aware that dogs and cats do not belong in petstores that now most pet stores will only refer you to a rescue or to 'reputable' breeders. Even though it's "legal"

The thing is that they make their money on the supplies, NOT the guinea pigs! The most ridiculous thing in my opinion is that the types of stores that SELL guinea pigs only offer the WORST supplies for them! Yet, all my high end expensive and good supplies come from stores that do NOT SELL any animals.

We aren't getting that kind of support from the public with Guinea Pigs however, as most people are not aware of the guinea pig overpopulation. Thanks in MOST part to the lack of support by Humane Societies, and pet Shelters who seldom bother posting that they even have them available for adoption. EVEN the San Francisco SPCA specifically state that they ONLY deal with Cats and Dogs on their website! The San Francisco SPCA

Here in the SF bay area evey Petco, Petstupid, Pet Whatever etc.. still have pitiful guinea pigs for sale. They actually try to make people THINK they are "rescues" because they put the stickers regarding their DOG AND CAT adoption policy onto the guinea pig cages! This is actually false advertising and I bet if someone wanted to nail them for it they could on it. I think the days of GP's being sold in pet stores are very numbered, as things are beginning to bubble up now and again on the news regarding this. We just have to ante up the public pressure which will happen eventually.

While we don't have LEGISLATION that prevents them from selling dogs and cats, we have public pressure which is much more effective! The trick I personally feel, is to get the folks in the rest of the country onto the same bandwagon regarding the idea of selling animals in a retail environment.

It AMAZED me to find out that dogs and cats are still being sold in pet stores in other parts of the country!

[fourbwabbys]

I've never been in a pet store that sold dogs and cats. I know there's one about an hour from me, but I've never actually been there. What is extremely sad is that the majority of them probably came from a nearby town in Pennsylvania that's the biggest puppy mill city of the country. I've seen them on 20/20 and I don't know how people can have the heart to support that.