Petland Sadists

[notscaredtodance]

I'm starting to volunteer as an avian vet on nov 1 and will be getting paid for it in january. i'm also putting myself through vet tech school, so i'll need a steady source of income. If i can get good money from the avian vet, yes, I'll quit the store.

I'm kind of a double agent at the store. Whenever people want to buy animals I let them know EVERYTHING about it, including all the bad stuff. Our animal sales have actually gone down about 25% since I started working there a year ago. :] Whoops.

My job is really just caring for the animals, feeding, cleaning, and providing enrichment, and then informing customers about what caring for these animals requires.

[GooseBlossom]

The title should have warned me. I usually avoid reading these forums because it is difficult to not internalize. Then it takes a long time to recover from the combined emotions of sadness and rage. Makes me want to save all the birds by buying them and bringing them home with me. Impractical, I know, as is wishing I could blink-and-nod and change the knuckle-draggers into cement.

[zazanomore]

The title should have warned me. I usually avoid reading these forums because it is difficult to not internalize. Then it takes a long time to recover from the combined emotions of sadness and rage. Makes me want to save all the birds by buying them and bringing them home with me. Impractical, I know, as is wishing I could blink-and-nod and change the knuckle-draggers into cement.

How about donating to your local no-kill animal shelter or bird sanctuary?

Also, when it comes to advocating change, the very first step is informing yourself and informing others. The more people know, the better.

[notscaredtodance]

Buying animals to save them from petstores is like, the WORST thing you can do for them. All the store sees is profit, and they order twice as many. I cannot stress enough, not to buy from petstores. I really hope one day mills and petstores either need a serious license to sell livestock, like, monthly checks from special officials to make sure everything is happy and healthy, or, just dont sell. Breeders are the only way to go. But unfortunately, there are some really bad ones of those too.

[GooseBlossom]

The title should have warned me. I usually avoid reading these forums because it is difficult to not internalize. Then it takes a long time to recover from the combined emotions of sadness and rage. Makes me want to save all the birds by buying them and bringing them home with me. Impractical, I know, as is wishing I could blink-and-nod and change the knuckle-draggers into cement.

How about donating to your local no-kill animal shelter or bird sanctuary?

Also, when it comes to advocating change, the very first step is informing yourself and informing others. The more people know, the better.

I do.
I know.
Thanks.

[GooseBlossom]

Buying animals to save them from petstores is like, the WORST thing you can do for them. All the store sees is profit, and they order twice as many. I cannot stress enough, not to buy from petstores. I really hope one day mills and petstores either need a serious license to sell livestock, like, monthly checks from special officials to make sure everything is happy and healthy, or, just dont sell. Breeders are the only way to go. But unfortunately, there are some really bad ones of those too.

I know.
Thanks.

[Jenny]

The title should have warned me. I usually avoid reading these forums because it is difficult to not internalize.

I've become more & more like this as well. I've been accused of sticking my head in the sand, but I'm just not able to deal w/the emotions these types of reports stir up in me anymore.

Makes me want to save all the birds by buying them and bringing them home with me. Impractical, I know, as is wishing I could blink-and-nod and change the knuckle-draggers...

GooseBlossom, this is an indication of your compassionate heart. & knowing this type of action would only strengthen the industry that we'd like to see eradicated doesn't change our wish that we could provide a better environment for all the creatures at the mercy of the knuckle-draggers.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Buying animals to save them from petstores is like, the WORST thing you can do for them. All the store sees is profit, and they order twice as many. I cannot stress enough, not to buy from petstores. I really hope one day mills and petstores either need a serious license to sell livestock, like, monthly checks from special officials to make sure everything is happy and healthy, or, just dont sell. Breeders are the only way to go. But unfortunately, there are some really bad ones of those too.

While it is true that buying a bird or other animal at a pet store is encouraging the store to keep selling them, it IS actually giving that one animal a home. So if your goal is to "save" a particular critter you have fallen in love with, that's one thing. Just be aware that in the bigger picture it isn't discouraging the behavior.

Not all pet stores are bad. It is true that I won't even walk into one that sells puppies and kittens, I just won't go there, because of the breeding practices behind the sale of puppies and kittens in the local mall. I'm less hard over on stores that don't sell cats and dogs, but do sell birds because as far as I know birdmills aren't a problem, so it comes down to how well the store can care for the birds. Petsmart is extremly convenient for me, the local one appears to take immaculate care of their animals in terms of basic feeding and cleanliness -- they appear happy and healthy. Granted, Scooter got a raw deal because he was bought and returned and the large cage had been re-occupied, so he wound up in undersized accommodations and tucked away too long. They aren't perfect and I'd be very happy if they never had another larger bird again. Which they actually haven't in months. Petsmart also hosts rescue organizations and gives them a venue to place rescued cats. I don't have a problem supporting that kind of behavior. I'm sure there are some poorly run franchises out there, but the local store is great, the people are friendly, and for the most part they seem to actually care about the animals.

We also have at least two bird stores reasonably nearby that appear to be breeders/handraisers that also have a shop. The older babies get handfed out in the shop area. I don't see anything particularly wrong with that scenario, but it is technically a petshop as well. I agree that regulating the practices of shops and particularly of those animal producers that supply large shops is probably the key. Making pets really difficult to get is not IMO the right answer, either. Not all petshop purchases end badly, some end with introducing a child to a lifetime of loving animals...

[zazanomore]

Petsmart also hosts rescue organizations and gives them a venue to place rescued cats. I don't have a problem supporting that kind of behavior. I'm sure there are some poorly run franchises out there, but the local store is great, the people are friendly, and for the most part they seem to actually care about the animals.

My local petsmart always has some of the cats from the Ottawa Humane Society on display.

I live outside of the city, but our town has an organic pet-health food store. One of my neighbors is a crazy cat lady and works there. They always have cats there from a small cat rescue there. They have these really cool cages that have tunnels that go on the ceiling. So, even though they don't sell bird products, I still buy all of my dog toys there.

[a.susz]

i go fish shopping at big box stores and tell people about our bird store....