Ooooh guess what I heard in a pet shop today!

The hamster thread in general chat just reminded me :lol:

Took my sister to the pet shop today to get her lads some ratty toys and there was a man trying to buy a hamster for his kids, and the lady working there refused the sale and said they would not sell animals for children :shock:

When we got to the till I said does that include rabbits and she said yes!! Said they are no longer selling animals to people who go in with children and are questioning who the animal is for when adults are in buying pets alone

I know it could be better in that they could just not sell them but I was so pleased to hear this and just thought I would share it with you guys

This is coming just after another pet shop who always had loads of rabbits in have stopped selling rabbits, are directing people to the animal shelter and giving people who pass their homecheck a free starter kit of rabbit pellets/water bottle/chew toys...

Just makes me feel a bit hopeful that things are changing x

:thumb: Makes a refreshing change.

Thats brilliant news

oh thats great unfortunately my small local petshop has just started to sell rabbits and other animals

I know people might hate me saying this but I think that is wrong. Fair enough if they are not educated but I don't think they should stop selling pets for children. Just make sure they are educated. I would have hated it if I wasn't allowed any pets as a kid. It has made me who I am, training to be a vet nurse. I think the problem is the educating really. Do they not sell to kids at all or just to families who see as not fit? Like would they sell to someone who had done their research before buying a pet? And some kids look after animals better than adults do.

jenzel5 said:

I know people might hate me saying this but I think that is wrong. Fair enough if they are not educated but I don't think they should stop selling pets for children. Just make sure they are educated. I would have hated it if I wasn't allowed any pets as a kid. It has made me who I am, training to be a vet nurse. I think the problem is the educating really. Do they not sell to kids at all or just to families who see as not fit? Like would they sell to someone who had done their research before buying a pet? And some kids look after animals better than adults do.

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I dont think its wrong because I dont think they should sell animals full stop Maybe their next step will be not to sell animals to anyone

Im sure some kids do look after animals better than adults, but at the end of the day a kid cant call an emergency vet in the middle of the night, get there and back and pay a bill that has run into hundreds :? I know a lot of adults probably choose not to do that but a child would never be able to so kids should not have animals unless it was the parent that actually wanted the animal and is prepared to be the main carer. I dont think children should look after animals at all. I think if the parent wants that animal and the child helps feed it or something thats ok

I was told they arent selling animals to anyone who is buying a pet for a child. She said if the adult wants the animal they will say that rather than say my son/daughter wants them

Nobody is saying the child in the pet shop today will never have a hamster, ive no doubt they stopped at the pet shop down the road and brought one :roll: And there are enough in rescue centers so if anyone is really serious they will go through a homecheck and adopt if they cant buy one x

The Petshop Near Me Is So Bad For Animals.
They Dont Know The Gender/Age/Birthday And The Hamster Bite And There Is Like 10 Boy And Girl Hammies With Just A Lil Bit Of Water And Food. Shameful! :evil:
Rabbits - Dont Even Get Me Started In That Petshop Urghh

I went to a small independent pet shop yesterday & left really quite upset. There were some adorable rabbits in way too small cages, the hamsters/mice/gerbils were in cages stacked on top of each other so if my toddler had been clumsy he could have knocked them all over. Someone bought kittens in to sell, he explained that one had been to the vets with an iffy tummy & they said they would just clean it away...

I had phoned the RSPCA about the size cage needed for the rescue hamster we are getting on monday & none of their ages were big enough & they were rather put out when I told them!

I will be telling the RSPCA about them when we go there tomorrow. I still feel upset thinking about those rabbits. I know P@H is often critised but their animals are kept in complete luxury compared to this pet shop.

The rabbit hutches they were selling were only big enough for guinie pigs, if that & their runs were not much better & too low, no way a rabbit could stand up on it's back legs & look around.

I didn't buy anything there & wont be going back. It's still upsetting me, those poor rabbits, I dread to think what accomodation they could be spending the rest of their lives in if they new owner gets the hutch from the same shop

I think that's great. An animal should never be specifically for a child, it needs the adult to be willing to help out and have responsibility too.

Mia & Honey said:

oh thats great unfortunately my small local petshop has just started to sell rabbits and other animals

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Same here. My local Jollyes just started selling rabbits and hamsters etc

I don't know...when I was ten I really wanted a cat or a dog but we couldn't get one because my dad was allergic to cats and dogs are waaayy too expensive, so my mom thought a bunny would be a great idea and I had never thought of one before. And I'm glad that she took me in to the pet store and let me pick one out because I loved my first bun with all my heart and my parents made sure to buy books about keeping them and even bought me some bunny mags hehe.

Anyways my point is if they aren't going to get it from the petstore there are many other places to get it (In fact, there's a huuuge fair where I bought my Nomaru at....I don't see whats wrong about getting one from there......they ALL look like they need rescuing....all cooped up in those tiny little cages =[ Like the furkin holocaust.

Lol I think I got off topic..

In some ways I agree that children should not have pets if they are not going to look after them. But there is also the point that you have some children who are willing to help, I have 8 pets in total and I as an adult feel that I should be the one looking after the. However my kids do help, they hold the bag while I clean the hutches, they help to feed and water the. They also spend time with them, even if they outgrow this, they are my animals.

What petshops should do is create a questionaire, to find out if the child and the adult is competent enought to look after any anminals bought. It could included a brief explantion on costs, such as prices like nuetering, cost of food and homes. Ask the adult who is with the child to fill in this questionaire and make sure that they understand all the resposibilites.

K sorry I didnt mean this to turn into should kids own pets or not, it can only be a good thing if a pet shop stops and thinks before they sell an animal :? A pet shop refusing a sale of an animal for whatever reason is good

I thought we would all be pleased because I see it as a step towards this shop not selling animals at all. It is the first time I have come across a pet shop thinking who might end up looking after a pet before they sell it.

Thinking about the amount of times I have been in a pet shop and someone has come in with their kids to pick up cat food or something and ended up leaving with a rabbit and a tiny hutch without ever considering having one before their kids started stamping their feet in the shop I can only see this as a good thing for the animals being sold in that shop. Its going to bring down the number of impulse buys in that place

Who cares if the kid wants a pet, maybe being told no somewhere will make parents who arent prepared and are just trying to shut their kids up to think twice before going somewhere else to buy one?

I think everyone has some good points about the parents. I cleaned my rabbits hutch and fed her and gave her water and brought her in the house for cuddles and attention. My parents had to nag me sometimes when I was young to clean the hutch and bought her supplies. So I think it is important for parents to be involved like mine were. I like the ideas of the questionnaire. I just don't understand where people would get their pets if all pet shops were closed and breeders were banned. All the animals in shelters would soon find homes and then? I don't agree with the way some pet shops house there animals and the way some breeders treat their animals. I just believe that pet shops should house their animals in the best housing etc and educate new owners. My thoughts are about turning these people away with a child as someone said is they probably went elsewhere for a hamster and didn't receive any advice or knowledge. If the first pet shop would educate new owners with children then I think that is better. I also think that some parents only take their children to buy a pet if they are prepared to take on expenses and care etc. Although I know that is not the case all the time. If I had children I would only go and get them a pet once I felt I could financially look after them and had the time for them. Sorry for the rant

jenzel5 said:

I think everyone has some good points about the parents. I cleaned my rabbits hutch and fed her and gave her water and brought her in the house for cuddles and attention. My parents had to nag me sometimes when I was young to clean the hutch and bought her supplies. So I think it is important for parents to be involved like mine were. I like the ideas of the questionnaire. I just don't understand where people would get their pets if all pet shops were closed and breeders were banned. All the animals in shelters would soon find homes and then? I don't agree with the way some pet shops house there animals and the way some breeders treat their animals. I just believe that pet shops should house their animals in the best housing etc and educate new owners. My thoughts are about turning these people away with a child as someone said is they probably went elsewhere for a hamster and didn't receive any advice or knowledge. If the first pet shop would educate new owners with children then I think that is better. I also think that some parents only take their children to buy a pet if they are prepared to take on expenses and care etc. Although I know that is not the case all the time. If I had children I would only go and get them a pet once I felt I could financially look after them and had the time for them. Sorry for the rant

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Responsible breeders? They do exist we have some on the forum. I bet most rescues would say that a large number of rabbits they take in have come from a pet shop, or are a childs pet where the parents cant be bothered because they never wanted it in the first place

And anyways if there was suddenly no more pets it wouldnt really be a bad thing, people dont have some sort of right to keep pets. No more pets for anyone would mean a whole load of suffering would stop