'Disney's Ratatouille gives kids taste for rats'

[FoolOnTheHill]

Article

"Pets at Home said sales of rats in the half-term holiday soared by 50 per cent in its stores."

Woop. Woop. All those parents are going to have fun cleaning and feeding their kids pet rats when the novelty wears off, if they don't already have dead rats or pregnant rats. I can't believe the amount of parents who must have thought of rats of horrible creatures and seem to have been persuaded they're not by a Disney film and their children's whining.

[i-love-nev]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY this is all we need argh! stupid people!

[LouisesPigguns]

Crazy isn't it? I remember 'Finding Nemo' made children want clown fish. I have a 3ft cold water fish tank and use a wonderful shop near my home in Liverpool which is family run, they really know their stuff. Anyway, they had to put a sign up saying we will not sell Clown fish to anyone who calls them Nemo's!

I was horrified to find out that someone bought six clown fish and put them in a normal tank with cold water and left them! Obviously they all died!

My daughter loves Ratatouille but wouldn't want a real rat out of it although she does love fancy rats, some kids are just brats about this sort of thing, they must thing animals are like the Disney films!

Now I must go out and buy Simba from the Lion King!

[wickedrodent]

Why?! All I ask is that they put ONE scene in ONE movie now a days that contributes to the overpopulation of shelters and maybe (including rats and small animals), perhaps, It will make people think. I wonder if people started adopting animals after the pound scenes in Lady and the Tramp?

[babybunny]

I know back in the day after 101 Dalmatians, every dalmatian in a shelter/pound in our area had a waiting list of adopters. Sadly, a dalmatian isn't the type of dog for every one. Reflecting on it now, its sad how people (including my mom, then) get caught up in animal fads based on silly movies.

[thalestral]

I believe there is a guinea pig animated film out in 2009, I hope the same thing doesn't happen all over again :/

[cavyinhawaii]

Why can't they just go to the disney store and buy the stuffed animal??!!
Here's the action figure only $12.50. When you get tired of it ,no problem.

DisneyStore.com: Ratatouille Remy 5 3/4'' Action Figure

[Wheek Weak]

My husband mentioned (quite innocently) that I should write a childrens book about guinea pigs.

I told him NO WAY, in no uncertain terms. All of our rescues have come to us because of pet stores selling guinea pigs (as toys) to children (or should I say their parents).

I absolutely refuse to perpetuate the sale of guinea pigs (or any other animal for that matter) to un-educated (re: pets), un-knowing, and apathetic people who treat salient beings as dis-cardable toys when the novelty wears off, and their children want the next fad that Disney/Pixar, or whatever media mind-control giant tells them is the thing they want.

When we first heard about Ratatouille, I told my husband that there would be a lot of rats suffering and dying from neglect and ignorance because people would flock to the pet/toy store to buy them for their kids that simply have to say, "I want one".

They would not bother to search out the proper way to care for them, find out their dietary and housing needs, learn about their common ailments/diseases, or even consider the absurd possibility of taking them to a vet if they got sick.

Voila, low and behold, the sale of rats is up 50%. Unfortunately, the illness/death rate for them is, most likely, up much higher than that. I only say that because most pet stores sell rats as food for snakes, not pets. So, how many people are going to be given proper (if any) care instructions by the pet stores?

[Alyndra]

Cavy friends, lets stop bashing kids. If we have to bash someone, let's bash the parents. How many parents explain the purpose of media to children? How many adults realize how impacted we all are by the media? Come on, how many of us have at least picked up a burger because of an ad? Children are taking in all this media, too, and don't have the maturity to process it.

We have to face the fact that we are a generation who does not have a good grasp on parenting. I'm utterly baffled as to why I keep reading negative comments about children. Children are, by definition, immature. When they have an immature understanding of the implications of getting a pet and are immature in their ability to care for the pet, they should not be condemned for it. When the animal is not provided with excellent care, it's the parents who are to blame.

[Ally has U's]

I fully agree with Alyndra.

I have always thought that. Whenever I hear older people bashing a child about anything I always want to walk up to them and say why don't you make a comment to their parent. It isn't the child's fault. I never understood why mother wouldn't let me have a pet when we walked inside of a pet store and I feel in love with the first small creature I found, until I got old enough to understand that animals are not impulse buys.

[babybunny]

Hmm I reread the posts. Where did you see people bashing children? In fact I don't really see anyone bashing any particular person but rather commenting on the way media influences impulse/fad buys.

[Alyndra]

Hmm, I think you are right. There isn't anything direct in this thread, is there? Just references to whiny and demanding kids who insist on having a rat. I think I've been reading this forum too much!

[Ally has U's]

I realize that it isn't that bashing children is happening it is the subject all together.

Media will always affect children. Always has always will; no way around that, it is how companies geared toward children get money.

There is almost no way you can prevent this from happening unless the parents are educated enough to know that animals aren't something you can just pass by as no big deal. You can be as upset as much as possible and parents will still continue to buy their kids rodents without a second thought. And animals all over the world will be killed and neglected maybe even abused. I say almost because I know in my heart that it could be stopped so easily but people don't generally ban together to stop this. We just argue and state how bad it is on the internet. And sign internet petitions that usually don't get more than a second glance by the high power people that we send it too. Then if we act out in any argry form we get put in jail. We don't actually ban together with a smart plan to stop any form of animal cruelty. I am not saying you should stop expressing your opinions or stop signing petitions you should continue the more the better!

BUT, sure we can create threads and wear t-shirts, plaster anti-stickers on everything and even go vegan; but who with power is watching us and going that is something we need to fix. So far no one. (Also I am going to state that their is nothing wrong with doing any of those things the more we can get out there the better, but it can't be the only thing we do).

Start a revolution! I have tried to this do several things in my town, everyone acted liked they cared when I talk to people individually but when the time came no one actually rised up to the occasion and did something. It was always just MY voice alone. It is hard to start an uproar with only a mouse I really know this BUT if we could do something together the impossible can very well become possible.

I am just trying to stress the fact that we can help all animals who have to suffer anything. But it is hard to move mountains, especially individually.

Forget the cute movies and how children all of a sudden want rats, lets make it so that all that movie is, is a cute movie about rats. Plus if we can do something we may be able to get movies to add in some informational information on the animals in the movie. Who knows...

__________________________________________________ _________

I always hated the term people so easily state:
"they are great starter pets"

What does that mean? Does it mean it is ok if a small animal dies because you can always get another. Or it is their first small animal so if something goes wrong it doesn't affect anything and it is just--OK?

[Jess Z]

UGH! What is up with Disney making all of these animal movies? Just this week in Home Economics (cooking) we had to watch the Ratatouille movie! Like all of the kids in the class were like "I want to get rats now they seem so nice and loveable!" Rats are nice and loveable but not for a whole class of inexperienced kids in my class! Next is there going to be a guinea pig movie?

[babybunny]

Yes, "G-Force" is due in 2009. Its about lab guinea pigs who become spies (or so I gathered from some sites).

[gpigluver14]

Yes, "G-Force" is due in 2009. Its about lab guinea pigs who become spies (or so I gathered from some sites).

Oh dear. Please tell me its a cartoon. Does anyone know if it is?