The "Ocean Floor" is a fish and herp store in Phoenix AZ. They were robbed this monday night and are asking for the herp community to help out and keep an eye open. Here is the msg they posted on a local herp board (AHA) "On Monday night the Ocean floor was broken into. Several animals were stolen. Including our large Iguanas that the store has had for 6 years our 9 foot male albino Burmese python, 10 baby sulcata tortoises,3 baby leopard tortoises, 2 cherry head red foot tortoises, a peacock chameleon, and 3 forest hindgeback tortoises. The reptile department was vandalized as well smashed cages and stolen product. We have notified everyone we can and encourage anyone who knows anything to tell the authorities and give us a call. We are very concerned about our animals well being especially our iguanas. The Ocean Floor"
Oh no that is horrible!!! The first thing that comes to mind is animal rights activists.... They do stupid crap like this to 'free' animals from the slavery of being our pets. Hopefully they are looking into PeTA, ALF, as well as any smaller local organizations they may have in the area. If it was vandalism, it sounds anti-pet store and not just someone without money looking for free pets :-p
Animal activists is a possibility, but I would doubt so in this case. This store is nicely kept and the animals are generally clean and healthy. If it would have been anti pet store, I would have expected more damage, this store is FULL of glass tanks, fish and accessories. It seems only the front of the store where the reptiles were kept was dammaged.
I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions, and maybe it's not animal extremists... but it's definitely an option to check out in case. But activists are against pets no matter what, even when kept clean and healthy. I once joined a local Animal Rights group (yeaaaaars back before I knew better and I assumed it was about stopping unecessary animal abuse.... boy was I wrong!) So i know how they think. I know some people in the show dog world (I do not personally show dogs, but do go to shows and talk with breeders/showers/etc. of the breed I own) And animal rights activists have actually gone to outdoor dog shows- where dogs are pampered and treated like royalty- and set them lose to streets to be hit by cars b/c dogs are better off dead than being 'exploited' in the show ring. So being well cared for will not stop activists who are anti-pet. I mean it probably wasnt an AR invasion, and just some random jerks. But knowing how activists are, they are the first thing that comes to mind when I see a situation like this. BTW I quit that animal group immediately! When I went to a meeting *expecting* to talk about animal abuse I got lectured on why I shouldn't drink milk, eat meat or eggs. OR EVEN EAT HONEY b/c even though bees dont die to get honey... they still made it so it belongs to them and not us. I got told that I should never call my animals 'pets' b/c it's degrading to them..... And if my dog gets fleas I am supposed to take a pair of soft tweezers and pick them off one at a time and set them free outside. etc. etc. etc.
I wouldn't jump to the activist thing either. They were most likely doing it for financial gain. If it were activists, they would've freed all the animals, not just those specific ones. Either that or it could have been a bunch of kids looking for a thrill.
I also believe that activists would have left a signature of somekind to try to get their message across. Plus, the species that were picked up would absolutely not survive in Arizona so they would have to go a LONG distance to free them, and that would hurt the echo system. The number of burmese pythons in the everglades is a nice example of this wonderful phenomenon. I hope they find the animals to be safe and that the culprits are punished accordingly. Anyhow, who would want to try and make money out of adult green iguanas? There are already soooo many of them out of adoption that have a hard time finding homes B)
Re: RE: Pet store robbed, reptiles stolen! The vast majority of animal rights terrorists don't understand what will and will not survive in a given environment. All they care about is the animals are no longer caged...what happens after they are set free is not their problem. And yes, a large number of these people believe a dog is better off run over by a car than housed and fed by a person. If animal rights terrorists did commit this act, the only reason the fish were left behind was they couldn't figure out how to get them to a body of water without them dying.
RE: Re: RE: Pet store robbed, reptiles stolen! Exactly what KaosRacing said! While I am not pointing my finger that it was definitely activists, you do have to remember they do NOT think logically and care about the ultimate welfare of the animal. They "free" animals from labratories, fur farms, dog shows, etc. all the time *knowing* that these animals will die and/or cause problems in the wild. These animals in labs and farms have never learned to survive in the wild and pretty much always die shortly, or wind up killing a bunch of native species... or sometimes breeding with other wild animals and passing along their 'man-altered' genetics. Also animals in labs can be injected with who-knows-what and releasing these animals can possibly spread this. Also look at the times when animal groups "Rescued" lobsters from being eaten... they released them into waters that were not the right kind for the particular lobsters, so they painfully died.... But 'better than people eating them right'? *rolls eyes at AR activists* I am personally anti-fur (I do not believe in killing animals soley for the sake of fashion. I don't have a problem with fur and leather leftover from animals that were eaten though since you are making use of the whole animal rather than killing specifically for a coat to throw the rest away) BUT I do realize that the animals raised on a fur farm, the damage is already done, and 'freeing' them causes much more damage to them and the local wildlife and environment. So even being against fur, I have the sense to know that these animals cannot be 'freed'. So yea, the fact that the animals' "natural environment" is so far away means nothing b/c animal activists will just 'free' them off into the streets or woods. Knowing that they will die... but they think a 'death in nature' is better than 'life as a pet'.
RE: Re: RE: Pet store robbed, reptiles stolen! I agree about the Fur/leather for fashion thing. I'm against that but I know the damage is already done at the farms. There's nothing to be done, however unfortunate. BUT... This I do NOT agree with at all! :evil: These are ppl's personal pets. They are loved and taken very good care of. They have NO right to do that and they should be punished.
RE: Re: RE: Pet store robbed, reptiles stolen! Well for one, I don't think it was animal activists because I agree with saying they wouldn't just take the reptiles. Also other products were stolen. I think you should post this at places like kingsnake and Faunaclassifieds...maybe even reptilebid. If these people were taking them to get money from reselling...it could be easy to track them. One user or several users selling these exact animals from the same geographical area. Everyone in the area should be on the lookout for people trying to sell them these animals. Hope it turns out well and the animals are unharmed.
