Interesting conversation.

I had a chap come to see me the other day to discuss rabbit accommodation.The person in question was an engineer and metal work fabricator and totally removed from the world of rabbits in general . The interesting part of the conversation went like this.....

Chap...Ere I went to xxxxxxx auctions the other day and there was this bloke there who was buying up all the rabbits and guinea pigs.

Me(interest now aroused)...Oh yeah

Chap...I thought I recognised him so I went over and spoke to him...what do you think he wanted with all of them?

Me (now fearing the worst answer)....I'm not sure I want to hear what you are about to tell me.

Chap ....Well he was buying them for one of those well known pet shops....they come to him and he just supplies them for all over.

Me... Which pet shops?

Chap....xxxxxxxx

Me.... Oh what as the breeder?

Chap...No he's just a supplier and they do'nt know where they've come from.

He did say who this person was the buyer for but I've no intention of repeating it.... but it got me thinking.

We get rabbits from all over and in all conditions and as such it takes time , experience and money to identify issues and nurse back to health certain bunnies.New owners are given all the info we know and are re-assurered we will be here to help with any future problems.

When you go to a pet shop for a "new bunny" you assume you are getting a young bunny bred by a dedicated breeder in the peak of health....buyer beware!.... from my conversation with this chap it suggests that some have no idea or care whatsoever where they come from.

alan.

That is so imteresting and would completely make sense, actually it's rather like a jigsaw and another 10 pieces have just been added

I took a rabbit in about 3yrs ago from a well known pet shop as a customer had taken her back because she had a runny nose and wanted a 'perfect pet':shock: not one that was going to cost money anyway the pet shop said it had snuffles and was going to pts her as she couldn't be resold as luck happened a worker at the pet shop phoned me and the rabbit cost me £12 to get her right she had an irritation up her nose and we cured it by using dog ear drops. She is still with me and fighting fit

Doesn't surprise me a jot. The real issues are profit not animal welfare :roll:

most of the animals i have got from pet shops have been fine but there was buster wich turned me off pamperd pets

I wonder if those poor bunnies will end up as 'new arrivals' or as those up for 'adoption' in a pet store?

The whole business makes me feel quite ill.

Which got me thinking even further......

Which got me thinking even further......

Why do people buy rabbits from pet shops when they have no real idea where they thave come from.....have not seen the parents .... have not seen the conditions they were raised in and have no proof of age.

And..... why do pet shops not freely advertise these details if they are so squeeky clean.

Tesco's for instance now advertise where their products actually come from....the farmer, organic , free range you name it so why not some big pet shop names when it comes to livestock. Why not give us some details we can actually check up on .

Come on ....tell us

Alan.

My first rabbit Russel was from a petshop I am sure you can guess which one. He was sold as an 8 week old boy. Vet informed me he was no such thing. He was old.

Some people buy from pet stores because at the time we just want a bunny, but these people can go on to be very god owners.

That's a very good point, because if ever you try to find out from any of the 'pet shop chain' about their animals it's all treated totally hush hush and you cannot get any information at all

It would appear that a bag of carrots is worth more that a live rabbit:roll:

rspcarabbits said:

Which got me thinking even further......

Why do people buy rabbits from pet shops when they have no real idea where they thave come from.....have not seen the parents .... have not seen the conditions they were raised in and have no proof of age.


Alan.

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Because, sadly, in this throw away/want it now society its much easier and convenient to pop into a pet shop, pick out the animal they want with no questions asked and take it home that day with no/little info on the animal and how to care for it properly

I think you are being a bit harsh on folk who have bought from pet shops, there are a lot of people on this forum who started their love for animals by buying from a pet store and then went on to be very good owners and rescue bunnies or at least take great care of the one they have!

Not really, Im not saying that some owners don't then go on to find the info and care for their animals properly. Im saying its much more convenient for them to buy from a shop that doesn't care about what the animal will be living in, fed, housed with etc than having to wait a day/week for a home check and made to comply to a good standard of accommodation/care. Too many people want it now and have not got the patience to wait a week or two. Also, many people don't realise that most petshops and breeders only care about profit and not the animals long term welfare. Which is understanabe, I used to think that pet shops were caring and lovely until I hit about 13/14 and worked in a few!
Its not just animals that people are impatient about, its everything in life. People are too busy and too selfish to wait for things whether its decent food, furniture, new car, money, pets, whatever. Thats why so many people are in debt! They want it all now and don't consider the implications of not doing things at a slower, more educated pace!

I've never bought any animal from a pet shop ooops tell a lie i have some fish i think with alot of people you put your trust into pet shops after all they are meant to know there stuff arn't they? if your a newby of any animal your first port of call is the pet shop coz you trust them and as time goes on you realise thats not the case same with breeders you have to find a decent one there not all good alot of people aswell don't do their homework before getting animals and then when a problem arises and they do their homework thats when they do realise whats what the info isn't out there if you don't have a computer if i didn't have a computer i wouldn't be on this forum and wouldn't have learnt what i have learnt before getting my bunny same with any of my animals

Leanne said:

Not really, Im not saying that some owners don't then go on to find the info and care for their animals properly. Im saying its much more convenient for them to buy from a shop that doesn't care about what the animal will be living in, fed, housed with etc than having to wait a day/week for a home check and made to comply to a good standard of accommodation/care. Too many people want it now and have not got the patience to wait a week or two. Also, many people don't realise that most petshops and breeders only care about profit and not the animals long term welfare. Which is understanabe, I used to think that pet shops were caring and lovely until I hit about 13/14 and worked in a few!
Its not just animals that people are impatient about, its everything in life. People are too busy and too selfish to wait for things whether its decent food, furniture, new car, money, pets, whatever. Thats why so many people are in debt! They want it all now and don't consider the implications of not doing things at a slower, more educated pace!

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I agree with your thoughts here. Spot on.

I do have to say though that I found out about rescues by accident. I had no idea that there was in issue with too many unwanted or dumped rabbits until I stumbled across rescues on an internet search for a duck sanctuary. I might well have gone to a pet shop if I hadn't read up first. I just don't think that there is enough 'air time' given to rabbit welfare. So many folks just have no idea because the problem just doesn't get publicised in the way that dogs and cats do.

Maybe one day we can change that.

It is amazing though how many people think you don't know what you are getting from a rescue yet you do from a pet shop:roll:
It really annoys me when people say this to me about any animal not just rabbits:evil:
Most rescues take time to get to know our animals that we get in and any health problems have been sorted out, people are just ignorant:roll:

2 of my bunnys are petshop bought. The only issue ive had with the 2 local petshops is -
a) one of them keeps guinea and bunnys togeather - and i asked him why? he said they were fine, i did alert him to the possible dangers of rabbits kicking the guinea and injuring it and that he should really house them sepratley. He wasnt interested and said if i wasnt happy with his shop, not to buy from him - So i dont
b) The petshop i USALLY use, sold me Phoebe when he was 2 young, this was more the breeders fault than anything, and the petshop funded me having to milk feed him and offered to pay any vet fees that arose from him being sold to early (which i thought was really nice)

The petshop I use, is fantastic! The staff are helpful, give great advice. They VERY rarely keep the bunnys in the petshop, and they remember who i am everytime I go in, and always asking how my bunnys are! They shop is absolutley sqeeky clean and the few animals they do have inside the shop, are nice and clean, with fresh water and theyve always had food when ever ive been in.
I dont regret buying Phoebe or Piper from the petshop, i wouldnt swap them for all the bunnys in the world TBH, it was nice seeing thier personalities develop!
I do agree that alot of people, can be inpatient and just go to buy pets from the petshops on a whim, but not all of us turn out to be bad bunny owners.
I must admit - i got Phoebe, because the nursery I worked in, had a pet rabbit called Rooney who i ended up looking after for 2 weeks during half term. I got rather attached and decided I wanted my own bunster, so the day rooney went back, i got given a hutch and went and bought Phoebe! Yes he was bought on a wim, and it was a total spur of the moment thing. I realize the ignorance in doing it now as i hadnt really done my research on bunnys and if im quite honest with you all, I didnt no they could get half the problems they get, until I joined here. I agree Kay - Phoebe has alot of tummy problems and quite often gets a messy bum and hes been to the vets more than I can count to get injections and medicine for his tummy - i think it nice when you get a rescue bunny - because you know what to expect.
You get your good petshops and your bad ones - yes the majority of them are bad but you do get some dedicated,nice petshops out there

Does the pet shop know? Auctions seem to sell animals for pennies. If you can buy then resell to pet shop for pounds its a nice profit... :?

i feel really guilty reading this lily was from a well known pet shop but was healthy when we had her. the only thing they did wrong was tell us she was a boy.

i didn't even discover that there were a lot of rescues for rabbits until i got into rabbits more and we decided to find Lily a mate.

obviously if i'd have been more clued up at the time i would have rescued, but sadly i wasn't.

dosen't change the fact that Lily is happy and has a nice home with us, just makes me feel really bad as i am new to all this and didnt realize there was such a stigma attached to it.

i feel really bad

Tamsin said:

Does the pet shop know? Auctions seem to sell animals for pennies. If you can buy then resell to pet shop for pounds its a nice profit... :?

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Does the pet shop care?. If they are alive and kicking when they leave the shop and they have the money in their till.....all's well .

The pet shop themselves did not buy from the auction so the "buck" will stop at the supplier if anybody points the finger....shock horror we did not know that was happening! we do not condone that sort of thing.....I'm sure you can fill in the rest .Lets get real here...this is the pet trade.

The sad thing is people believe adverts if they see them enough.

alan.

ChloeLawless said:

i feel really guilty reading this lily was from a well known pet shop but was healthy when we had her. the only thing they did wrong was tell us she was a boy.

i didn't even discover that there were a lot of rescues for rabbits until i got into rabbits more and we decided to find Lily a mate.

obviously if i'd have been more clued up at the time i would have rescued, but sadly i wasn't.

dosen't change the fact that Lily is happy and has a nice home with us, just makes me feel really bad as i am new to all this and didnt realize there was such a stigma attached to it.

i feel really bad

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This is not about anybody feeling guilty or attached stigma its sadly as much to do with lack of real info out there and in that respect the rspca has not exactly highlighted frequent "interesting "pet shop practices or for that matter anything to do much with rabbits at all.

Anyway I'm sure Lily has a good home as does our lilly which is the most important thing.

Sexing rabbits at pet shops...now thats a whole new thread:lol::lol::lol: to infinity.

alan.