What some people do for a few bucks...

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hey royal i noticed in your sig the 0.0.0.0 what would the last one be?

 

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Call Animal Control and the Better Business Bureau!

 

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what? I don't get that.

 

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I think that means the number of eggs incubating maybe?????

 

The worst I have seen besides lots of feces and inapropriate cage size or food, was dead animals! When we pointed out that the poor thing was dead the guy said "he's sleeping, he's fine". We had to argue for him to come check it (and prove us wrong, in his mind) and he had to remove him, stiff and all. That was in California.

People have no respect for animals when they only see them as $$. :evil:

 

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I agree.
My computer wouldn't link to the photos yesterday, and when I looked this morning, I thought they would be much worse. I have seen pretty rough conditions in pet stores, and though these enclosures were too small for long-term care, they were clean and the animals looked healthy.
The iggy was probably the most controversial...I don't think pet shops should carry them...period. The pet shop I use does not sell them because so many people try to bring them back when they are big, and they can get mean/dangerous, etc.

One thing about jumping on bandwagons, though. If you talk about these things only to eachother, or post these comments on a national/international forum like this one, it is similar (if not equal) to gossip and slander. If there are poor conditions, go to the proper authorities.
1) store manager/owner...and talk to them in a civil manner
2) animal control to make a formal complaint of cruelty/neglect
3) Better Business Bureau if the business practices are unethical.
Try to make a change without hurting people if you can. Help the animals, but in a respectful way. When I see a fish or animal that is ill, I tell the manager. If management is good, he/she will have the problem taken care of. If a cage is filthy, tell management. They need to know their customers care about things like that. They can get so busy taking care of customers, inventory, ordering, stocking shelves, pricing etc. that they can neglect the most important thing...the welfare of the animals they carry. Point it out to them...first...nicely.

As long as there is demand, the animals will be supplied. The money pet stores make is on the food and supplies. The animals in the store draw people in to look, and if they can sell you one, you will probably come back to buy supplies, too. Yes, it is about $$$, but that is what you use to buy the animals and supplies and you had to get it somewhere. They need $ to stay in business. The livelihood of the petshop owner and employees depends on good sales.

Don't condemn them for making money, but do try to educate the ignorant. Many of the employees are minimum wage folks, because it is just too costly to employ well-educated people to stock shelves and run the cash-register. Good management will make sure the animals are well cared for, however.

You know, there are starving people living in filthy conditions in our world. Simply complaining about it doesn't really help them much... :wink: