Thoughts about Pet Stores

[deborahjeanne]

Now I don't mean to start a fight, rather this is something my mind has been trying to wrap itself around for a few days.

I know that Pet stores are bad, but if the animals are already in the store, then is it fair to just leave them there? I realize that if we buy from pet stores then it encourages them to get more, but what if we don't buy the pigs? What happens to them then?

I hope that makes sense and you understand what I am trying to get at. It just sort of feels like, we shouldn't buy an animal at the pet store, but once someone else does and then abandons it its okay for us to rescue that pet.

Looking for some thoughtful discussion here, not a fight. I'm NOT saying that pet stores selling pets are good, or that shelters are bad.

deborah

 

[4Girls]

Now I don't mean to start a fight, rather this is something my mind has been trying to wrap itself around for a few days.

I know that Pet stores are bad, but if the animals are already in the store, then is it fair to just leave them there? I realize that if we buy from pet stores then it encourages them to get more, but what if we don't buy the pigs? What happens to them then?

I hope that makes sense and you understand what I am trying to get at. It just sort of feels like, we shouldn't buy an animal at the pet store, but once someone else does and then abandons it its okay for us to rescue that pet.

Looking for some thoughtful discussion here, not a fight. I'm NOT saying that pet stores selling pets are good, or that shelters are bad.

deborah

You are right - I recently bought a hamster from a local pet store figuring better that I buy him than someone who will tire of him in a couple of months and turn him over to a shelter or worse yet release him outside. I have to say one thing about the pet store I do deal with for supplies - he will only have 2 or 3 pigs at one time - the same thing for hamsters. There is another one I deal with that is part of a local chain and sometimes they will have 6 to 8 pigs, but they seem to move pretty fast as do their rabbits and small rodents.

I did buy my first 2 pigs from a pet store not knowing anything about rescues. My next 3 came from a rescue and now I help foster.

I think the biggest problem are the people who breed at home thinking they are going to be able to sell all the babies and then turn them into shelters.

My robo hamsters accidently had babies and I have given a few to friends, but have kept all the others. I could have given them to the pet store, but I want to know who gets them and also want to know they aren't going to end up being a throw away pet.

 

[Rachy1412]

I totally see your point deborah and I agree. The pigs you resuce from shelters are mainly pet store pigs anyway.. :S
So why not just buy them from the petstore and save them from a life of misery.

 

[ChadWPB]

The main problem lies in that when you "rescue" a petstore you reward the pet store with the money you paid for the pig. You also create room at the petstore to sell yet another pig. The cycle just goes on and on.

Plus, in the case of rescues, you won't see the type of story found in this post. Rescues screen potential adopters first, to increase the chances of pigs going to good homes, not poor ones.

What happens to pigs if they're not bought? I'm sure some become snake food, others are returned to the mill and killed, who knows what else. The idea is to stop stores from selling pigs in the first place! Why treat a symptom when you can treat the illness?

Even if the petstore itself treats their pigs well, it's not the case at the mill, where pigs are a commodity that is "manufactured". Sows are bred till they die. Would you like to be pregnant all the time? I think not. Pigs are shipped in tiny containers so they can barely twitch. Diseases run rampant with the overcrowding.

If you adopt a pig, you create room at a shelter or rescue for humane treatment of the dump of someone else's petstore purchase. You give the petstore NOTHING. The cycle of abuse is broken that way.

 

[Katie]

I totally see your point deborah and I agree. The pigs you resuce from shelters are mainly pet store pigs anyway.. :S
So why not just buy them from the petstore and save them from a life of misery.

You're kidding, right?
If you stop buying, the store stops selling. For every one pig you buy, about 5 will take it's place. When people don't buy the demand is lost and people stop breeding.

 

[Rachy1412]

Yes but the person who brought the pig in the first place gave the petstore money..
If you brought the pig before it got sold and abandonded you will also be making room at a shelter.

 

[ParanoidEv]

I have no idea what would happen then. But I guess petstores will only quit selling animals if they start to care about that damage that it really does.

 

[Katie]

Yes but the person who brought the pig in the first place gave the petstore money..
If you brought the pig before it got sold and abandonded you will also be making room at a shelter.

No. You will just be giving the pet store and breeder more money to continue selling and breeding.

 

[Rachy1412]

You're kidding, right?
If you stop buying, the store stops selling. For every one pig you buy, about 5 will take it's place. When people don't buy the demand is lost and people stop breeding.

Please don't get me wrong. I do not support pet shops and I am all for rescuing. Un-educated people will continuely buy from petshops. There will probably always be petshops that sell animals.

 

[pennick]

Why would a petshop have to get piggies from a mill. They just breed themselves and they save money. Free piggies.

 

[Katie]

Please don't get me wrong. I do not support pet shops and I am all for rescuing. Un-educated people will continuely buy from petshops. There will probably always be petshops that sell animals.

With education, there won't be.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Not exactly.

Why would a petshop have to get piggies from a mill. They just breed themselves and they save money. Free piggies.

 

[ChadWPB]

Rachy, please re-read my post. You're missing something.

 

[phantac]

There will always be petshops. There will always be someone willing to buy their pet at a petshop. Doesnt matter how much education there is petshops are here to stay unfortunately.

 

[4Girls]

A lot of people buy on impluse - they stop in with their kids and before you know it they are walking out the door with a pet they know nothing about along supplies worth a lot of money. Pet stores don't care about selling the animals - they just want you to keep coming back to buy more things and with a pet you will because you have to.

 

[Rachy1412]

I have yet to know anyone who has just brought a pet "on impluse".
When I was only 7 I had gerbils. I thought and planned everything before I even brought them!

 

[4Girls]

I have yet to know anyone who has just brought a pet "on impluse".
When I was only 7 I had gerbils. I thought and planned everything before I even brought them!

Yes, but you are 1 out of millions of people. I know of people who have gone to the pet store and walked out with a pet they had no plans of buying.

When I was growing up they didn't have internet and there wasn't much knowledge about guinea pigs. I got my first one when I was 10 and I didn't even know what one was. My uncle worked for Schering and took one from the lab before it was used for testing. We bought a book which probably had 25 pages in it. You were told to use pine or cedar bedding back then also - so times have changed, but not everyone has changed with them.

 

[deborahjeanne]

Interesting thoughts. I have to agree that it is likely there will always be petstores. But then again, zoos are really getting downsized/phased out, so who knows.

Sometimes there is no other source of animal - all the shelters around me for instance have either no guinea pigs at all, or only males.

It would be nice if stores could just be educated. I guess some people think it is better to sacrifice a few piggies (for instance if they never sold) in the hopes that a greater good will come of it (no guinea pigs in pet stores). That is sort of the message I got, am I right?

I do see your point Chad about breaking the cycle of abuse, but then I tend to also agree with the view of why does the guinea pig in the store have to take the risk of going to a bad home and then being abandoned before he can go directly to a good home? I know some people have "rescued" gp from pet stores that they felt were in imminent danger - that seems to be ok with most people, if the animal is in acute danger save it; if the animal might be in danger down the road because they can't sell it, it has to take its chances.

Do you see what I'm struggling with? Of course, its partially just my nature. I had a grief counsellor once tell me that I had the unfortunate gift of seeing both sides of the story - it can be very hard for me to argue a point without agreeing that your point is also valid.

Thankyou all for your thoughts on this.

deborah

 

[Rachy1412]

When I was growing up they didn't have internet and there wasn't much knowledge about guinea pigs. I got my first one when I was 10 and I didn't even know what one was. My uncle worked for Schering and took one from the lab before it was used for testing. We bought a book which probably had 25 pages in it. You were told to use pine or cedar bedding back then also - so times have changed, but not everyone has changed with them.

Yes time has definately changed! When my sister had guinea pigs (only 7years ago.) She never gave them daily vegis, all they got was scraps. Also when my dad was a child (Long time ago! ) he also NEVER gave his rabbits vegis and fruit daily. Only old peices of toast and a thew scraps. He also told me that in those days people would pick the rabbits up by their ears. (I hope he was lieing!)

 

[pennick]

I myself many years ago had a piggy. Kept him in a petstore cage. Got a playmate. No quarantine. Gave them canned vegetables and iceberg lettuce and some fruit. I didn't know any better. The cage was so small for 2 piggies all I kept doing was cleaning it out. It was always wet along with my pigs. I finally gave them to a friend. When I think of it now I want to cry. I feel so bad.