Rescue Concerns HELP

[Nix16]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this but just after some advice.
I have recently discovered a new small animal rescue in my area (the only one in the state) which a couple is running from their home and I was pretty keen to support them in their efforts, however I have been keeping an eye on the local classified website for guinea pigs and they have had a few ads on there looking for hutches, saying they are looking for animals to rehome etc. My concern though is that at the bottom it lists the sellers other ads, in a couple they are looking for various breeds of pet rabbits, but there is one ad that says they are looking for tortoiseshell or tricolour guinea pigs and lists them as a registered breeder ( where the other ads say owner or shelter). at first I thought maybe it was a problem with the website or something, but I'm not really convinced this is the case.
Any way I'm not sure what I should do about this if anything. They are supposedly rehoming these guinea pigs, however many of them are babies, so I have no idea if they really are being rehomed or if they are just breeding them and selling them for "adoption" fees. In saying that they are only charging $5 so they certainly aren't making money from them. I also find it a little odd that the RSPCA did not know they existed. I have to say I am just very confused about the whole thing, any suggestions ?

[AngelaCurran]

All I can think of would be to ask them; I would assume that if they are breeders, they would say so, or if they are a re-homing shelter, they would tell you.
Maybe the RSPCA doesn't know of them because they're new, or doing it from home, rather than a commercial space? (Just making a guess, I'm not sure how that works, really.)

I don't know - It does sound weird that there are mainly babies; you would think there would be older ones as well, but then again, maybe they can't keep the babies and it gave them the idea for the shelter?

[LifeAsItMayBe]

I would assume that if they are breeders, they would say so, or if they are a re-homing shelter, they would tell you.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, maybe they have been to this website and others like it before and realized a lot of people would be more likely to buy from them if they thought they were a rescue instead of breeders.

[AngelaCurran]

I wouldn't be so sure about that, maybe they have been to this website and others like it before and realized a lot of people would be more likely to buy from them if they thought they were a rescue instead of breeders.

That's true, I never thought of that... I hope not, though - it's horrible how sneaky people can be.
I wonder what the site is?

[PigPandemonium]

Many people are sneaky, and would do anything to sell off their guinea pigs. I once found and awesome rescue near me, and adopted two pigs from them of which I have now named Fus and Ro Dah. However after I adopted the two, I noticed not only that they were not as good as I thought (Keep bunnies and pigs together, have never even heard of a C&C cage) But they also breed their animals. :/

Or should I say I'm guessing they do, I don't have rock hard proof, however their were a string of odd things that lead me to it. First off, on Fus listing, it said she was dropped off in a box with no note or anything in front of their door pregnant, so they known nothing about her, however they somehow know her exact birth date and due date for the babies. They also somehow knew that Ro Dah (Her baby) Would be a silkie, which is also odd, because when silkies are born, they look like short hairs, then their hair slowly grows out, plus Fus is a short hair, and the dad didn't get dropped off, so their was no way they could have known who she was bred to. And lastly, the listings they had were always some lone older males (Guessing retired breeding stock) and moms with their babies.

[Paula]

$5 is certainly not really enough to spin a profit, especially when you take into consideration how much it actually costs to raise and feed guinea pigs. Personally, I think the best approach would be to ask them. We can all speculate, but without hearing from them it's impossible to know or even make a guess as to what they might actually be doing.

I think it's possible they are trying to run a legitimate rescue and are asking to take in pigs/rabbits they'd like to see. When you start out in rescue, it's hard to understand that you will have no problem finding animals to take in - they find you easily. It's adopting out that becomes the difficult task.

I'd ask them and see what they say - they might even be open to suggestions.

[Squint96]

Sometimes breeders also run rescues, I know that this happens with dogs.

[Nix16]

Squint96 I think this may be the case. I have just been through the list of members on their facebook page and several of them are members of the local cavy club (who obviously are mostly breeders) including the clubs president. I am going to assume for the moment that they are breeders who are also running a rescue, which I guess is better than regular breeders, and I would imagine they sell their "pet quality purebreds" separately for a higher fee. As I am not really looking to adopt another pig at the moment anyway as I already have 5 girls plus gilbert the foster pig, it doesn't really matter right now. I think I would still like to help them, in terms of I have been sending them info on how to make c & c cages, where to get materials etc, and I guess that sort of thing can't hurt regardless. Once I get to know them I should be able to find out more, I guess I was just a bit dissapointed that they are breeding, but its better than not having a rescue at all I suppose.
They have been good enough to put pics of gilbert on their facebook page to try and help me rehome him as the rspca took him of their website as soon as I took him into foster care. As a side note, some stupid worker at the rspca suggested I could breed gilbert with my girls while I had him and get "lots of babies", needless to say I told her what I thought about that! I guess you never know what people's views will be

[her87]

This is something I am starting to hear more about where I live as well and I find it disgusting. Someone who claims they are a rescue and yet breeds these rescue animals, does not understand the concept of rescue work.

Whether authorities will care that much to do anything about it, you will have to ask to find that out. I contacted the RSPCA about someone near me who 'rescued' animals and openly admitted to me that she bred from them as well, but I don't know of the outcome. Since then she hasn't had animals advertised online where I found her before so I'm guessing they were taken from her.

For the meantime, you could contact the person yourself. Playing dumb has worked for me in the past. See how they react to certain questions and you could catch them out. Once you've heard their side of it, you could give your opinion of what they're doing, without being aggressive and telling them they're wrong (although I know it's very hard to keep your cool with ignorant people like this), but they may just need some advice and to be shown another view point.

Hope it works out ok for them all.

[Nix16]

As they are always looking for food donations I thought maybe I might email them offering to drop off some food, then I can check the place out for myself and ask them some questions while I'm there. I did find out from them that they keep their animals inside, especially during the winter, which is good, but then the breeders that breed show pigs also keep theirs inside so that doesn't say much. I also thought I might go along to the next cavy club show in a few weeks just to scout out who is who etc, will just have to keep my mouth shut!

[MissJean]

As they are always looking for food donations I thought maybe I might email them offering to drop off some food, then I can check the place out for myself and ask them some questions while I'm there. I did find out from them that they keep their animals inside, especially during the winter, which is good, but then the breeders that breed show pigs also keep theirs inside so that doesn't say much. I also thought I might go along to the next cavy club show in a few weeks just to scout out who is who etc, will just have to keep my mouth shut!

Sneaky, sneaky!

I like your determination to adopt from a good source.