Reptiles, Bunnies & Small Mammals

Family Pet Could Be Dangerous To Children, Pregnant Women
Click here to read the article.

Many Veterinarians as well as pet shop employees will tell you that the mortality rate and suffering in a pet store is highest in reptiles.

Arguably, fish hold that title, with reptiles in a close second.

Bunnies Bunnies Everywhere!

It is not a secret that rabbits breed, well, like rabbits. So why then are people paying for them in retail, why aren’t they adopting them? Good question.

Easter

There is nothing as adorable as a baby bunny to delight the children on Easter morning. That is until the sweet little bunny pees on the carpet and leaves little “cocoa puffs” all over the place. Then off it goes to live in a cage, indoors to become a bothersome chore to care for or outside and forgotten about.

PETCO LIED

In a May 31, 1994, letter to a member of the public concerned about the sale of rabbits, Petco Vice President Craig Walker pledged that there would be no more bunnies (for sale) at Petco. According to Walker, Petco had found it next to impossible to convince inexperienced prospective owners that rabbits need special care, attention, and devotion just like cats and dogs … many rabbits are abandoned in the parks and in the wild.

Having recognized in 1994 that the majority of pet-shop consumers are unable and/or unwilling to meet the needs of rabbits sold in it stores, it is unconscionable for Petco to renege on its pledge and resume its sale of rabbits in 2000.

We are asking Petco to incorporate the philosophy of responsible pet ownership into its business practices and immediately end the sale of rabbits in all Petco stores.

A copy of the letter from Petco is on the NTRS website, www.ntrs.org

Petco still continues to sell rabbits.

What About Ferrets?

Ferrets sold in the Pet Trade often come from Marshall Farms, a breeding mill that also sells animals for use in research laboratory experiments. An ethical breeding establishment? Hardly.

An email from a ferret lover…

They are selling sick ferrets, and then not covering the vet bill. It was an emergency to bring his lifeless body, to care ASAP, but the store says that the receipt has a return clause, to bring it back to the store first.

In this case the animal would have died, since PETCO does not have a manager come in until 2:00 pm. Ironically the animal was brought to the same veterinary clinic that Petco uses, and it's only two buildings away.

Mice, Gerbils, Rats, G. Pigs...

Aside from freshwater fish, these wonderful animals are truly considered disposable pets. Sadly, these little creatures are highly intelligent, independent little animals who deserve a much better life than living in a tank with a stupid wheel to entertain them. These are the fortunate ones; others are sold in pet stores as live snake food. Rabbits are also sold as dinner for the larger snakes.

These animals, which come with a low price tag, are not a high priority in the Pet Trade. The sick and injured animals, just like the small cheap birds are placed in the back room away from the public eye. There they die, recover or get shipped back to the breeding mill like a defective toaster.

And The Fishes??

Saltwater fishes are caught on coral reefs, with Cyanide and nets. Aside from the gruesome deaths of hundreds of fishes in the nets and from the Cyanide, the impact on the delicate coral reef is devastating.

Freshwater fishes are mostly bred in captivity. Does this make the sales of them in retail ethical? No.

Hundreds upon thousands of fish die in transport, from the ocean, from commercial freshwater fish farms and from the Pet Trade giving out the wrong advice to fish keepers.

June Casualty Reports For PETCO….

Huntsville, Store #856, June 10, 2004*

• Two obviously ill finches were on display. One bird’s condition had been brought to the attention of employees a week earlier—to no avail.

Arizona
Fayetteville, Store #859, June 2, 2004*

• An employee placed a rat into a tiny plastic bag that appeared to limit the animals’ oxygen supply.

Arkansas
Unknown store number, June 19, 2004*

• The maggot-covered remains of numerous hermit crabs were on display.

California
Del Mar, Store #928, June 12, 2004*

• At least 15 dead fish were on display.

El Cajon, Store #561, June 18, 2004*

• A cat was bleeding and covered in cuts and razor burns after being groomed. The animal required veterinary care.

Deleware
Christiana, Store #888, June 11, 2004*

• Store managers failed to ensure that enclosures were cleaned and that animals were provided with proper food and water.

• Sick and dead animals were on display in filthy cages.

• Repeated requests for the PETCO corporate office to remedy the situation were ignored.

Idaho
Lewiston, Store #1212, June 2, 2004*

• Rodents who died in this store were often cannibalized by cagemates.

• Many guinea pigs and rats were suffering from conjunctivitis and respiratory infections when they arrived at the store.

• Animals suffering from bleeding abscesses were on display.

• Snakes who had been captured from the wild were sold in the store.

• Employees were disciplined by the store manager for caring for animals before cleaning the store.

Indiana
Indianapolis, Unknown store number, June 1, 2004*

• A dog was abused while being groomed at PETCO.

Louisiana
Harvey, Store #1404, June 3, 2004*

• Sick and injured animals were denied medication and kept on dirty bedding.

• Employees were seen tossing animals into a freezer to die.

• Frogs were left to sit in their own feces, and reptiles were denied adequate food.

• Mite-covered snakes were on display.

Maine
Augusta, Store #1821, June 5, 2004*

• An injured reptile was on display.

• The store manager who was notified of the situation claimed that the animal was fine.

Massachusetts
Unknown store number, June 3, 2004*

• Mice were kept in overcrowded enclosures.

• Fish were kept in filthy tanks.

Mississippi
Southaven, Store #1601, June 9, 2004*

• Dead rats were on display.

• The store manager who was notified of the animals’ condition claimed that they were sleeping.

• Birds were improperly housed and rarely fed.

• Reptiles were kept in dry, crowded enclosures and denied adequate food and water.

• Many fish suffered from ich.

Nebraska
Omaha, Unknown store number, June 19, 2004*

• Sick guinea pigs were found on display on several occasions.

• After asking for a female animal, a customer was sold a male guinea pig.

Omaha, Unknown store number, June 11, 2004*

• A hamster was running erratically around an enclosure. He had rubbed his nose “raw and bloody” by running into the tank’s walls.

Nevada
Henderson, Store #1115, June 1, 2004*

• A hamster died of wet tail on the day that he or she was purchased.

• The ferret enclosures were full of feces.

New York
New York, Store #783, June 1, 2004*

• Employees were said to be “ignorant and uneducated” about proper animal care.

Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Store #1759, June 14, 2004*

• Finches were eating around the rotting remains of three cagemates, who had been left in a food dish.

• The enclosure was filthy and full of waste.

• Overcrowded animals often became sick and injured one another in fights.

• An ill guinea pig infected many other animals in the store after being deprived of veterinary care for months.

• The store manager sold sick animals to customers.

Texas
Austin, Store #482, June 16, 2004*

• An employee placed a sick animal in the freezer to die.

• Fish suffering from ich and hamsters with wet tail were on display.

Houston, Store #468, June 21, 2004*

• Employees treated canaries in a “terrible” way.

Virginia
Unknown store number, June 21, 2004*

• Employees reportedly treated animals with “cruelty.”

Multiple Store Locations
Denton and Lewisville, Texas, Stores # 432 and #441, June 1, 2004*

• PETCO told managers not to take sick or injured “low sales animals” to the veterinarian, and animals were kept in the stores until they died.

• Newborn mice were placed in a freezer to die.

• As many as 1,000 fish received by the store every week were dead. Shipments also included many mite-infested rats and mice as well as reptiles and birds who appeared to be unweaned.

• Repeated complaints about animal care were ignored by PETCO’s corporate office.

Houston, Unknown store numbers, June 11, 2004*

• Animals were kept in horrible living conditions.

Unknown Store Locations
June 28, 2004*

• All the animals on display were obviously ill and being kept in disgusting enclosures.

• The guinea pigs’ bedding was saturated with waste.

June 9, 2004*

• Mice were living in an “absolutely disgusting,” crowded enclosure.

• Mice and parakeets were cannibalizing the remains of their cagemates.

It would be grossly unfair to all the animals to not pay attention to those which we call pets, as well as specimens, it all depends on your point of view. Are they pets or mere objects to use at our whim….
www.neavs.org
http://www.stopanimaltests.com/r-fsae14.html