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Pets at Home

ilovebunny

New Kit
They are horrid! I went into there today and they had 4 buns in a pen which was, at the most 1m X 1m, about half a handful of hay which the poor bunnies were all trying to get and no nuggets or fresh food at all! They also had 2 giant rabbits in a pen about this size and now one has been sold but as they had been together atleast a year they had bonded and the poor one whos left is so distressed! I got Summer from them a few weeks back, she was so so skinny, you could have cut your hand stroking her so was so thin. I phoned up their head office and they have spoken to them and are sending some people in to check all the pets but i still feel so bad for the poor animals! I had to go up to one of the people who worked there and tell them that the poor buns had no food and he then bothered to give them som hay and the way all the buns ran to it was heartbreaking. I wish i could take them all home. I know this is nothing compared to was some buns go through but i cant get over how people who are supposed to be trained etc can let buns go without food! They make me so mad :censored: my mum hates going in there now cuz i always try and get her to let me take atleast one of the buns home :(
 
They are horrid! I went into there today and they had 4 buns in a pen which was, at the most 1m X 1m, about half a handful of hay which the poor bunnies were all trying to get and no nuggets or fresh food at all! They also had 2 giant rabbits in a pen about this size and now one has been sold but as they had been together atleast a year they had bonded and the poor one whos left is so distressed! I got Summer from them a few weeks back, she was so so skinny, you could have cut your hand stroking her so was so thin. I phoned up their head office and they have spoken to them and are sending some people in to check all the pets but i still feel so bad for the poor animals! I had to go up to one of the people who worked there and tell them that the poor buns had no food and he then bothered to give them som hay and the way all the buns ran to it was heartbreaking. I wish i could take them all home. I know this is nothing compared to was some buns go through but i cant get over how people who are supposed to be trained etc can let buns go without food! They make me so mad :censored: my mum hates going in there now cuz i always try and get her to let me take atleast one of the buns home :(

In our Pets at Home, they give them their pellets in the morning and veg in the afternoon, therefore their bowls are quite often empty. They may have already been fed? I prefer this to some smaller pet shops where their bowls are constantly overflowing with muesli.

I hope they do send someone in to check on the animals. Well done for speaking up.
 
They are horrid! I went into there today and they had 4 buns in a pen which was, at the most 1m X 1m, about half a handful of hay which the poor bunnies were all trying to get and no nuggets or fresh food at all! They also had 2 giant rabbits in a pen about this size and now one has been sold but as they had been together atleast a year they had bonded and the poor one whos left is so distressed! I got Summer from them a few weeks back, she was so so skinny, you could have cut your hand stroking her so was so thin. I phoned up their head office and they have spoken to them and are sending some people in to check all the pets but i still feel so bad for the poor animals! I had to go up to one of the people who worked there and tell them that the poor buns had no food and he then bothered to give them som hay and the way all the buns ran to it was heartbreaking. I wish i could take them all home. I know this is nothing compared to was some buns go through but i cant get over how people who are supposed to be trained etc can let buns go without food! They make me so mad :censored: my mum hates going in there now cuz i always try and get her to let me take atleast one of the buns home :(


You might want to look at these threads:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=94160


And this one, Post #3

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?p=4064003#post4064003


P@H are supposed to be doing each and every thing claimed by the P@H Head of Pets in the bullet points in Post #3 in each and every P@H store on every single day of every trading week.
 
The link won't work :(

I checked the other buns and they all had some pellets but they were either on their own or only in a pair. They didnt take into consideration there were 4 buns in this pen and only gave enough for one bun. I never see them with fresh vegelables at all and i go in there quite often for various animal supplies. I've seen them without hay a few times before. The lady I spoke to athead office is sending someone in tomorrow to check and then another person in on monday. Shes spoken to the store and they have been told to make sure their buns have enough food etc. One thing she didnt say which i didnt like at all is about the giant rabbits who had bonded, basically they dont care. But i feel that if they arent going to sell them as a pair they should be seperate so the cant bond because this poor bun who is on his own now really does look so unhappy now his friend has gone.
 
The link won't work :(

I checked the other buns and they all had some pellets but they were either on their own or only in a pair. They didnt take into consideration there were 4 buns in this pen and only gave enough for one bun. I never see them with fresh vegelables at all and i go in there quite often for various animal supplies. I've seen them without hay a few times before. The lady I spoke to athead office is sending someone in tomorrow to check and then another person in on monday. Shes spoken to the store and they have been told to make sure their buns have enough food etc. One thing she didnt say which i didnt like at all is about the giant rabbits who had bonded, basically they dont care. But i feel that if they arent going to sell them as a pair they should be seperate so the cant bond because this poor bun who is on his own now really does look so unhappy now his friend has gone.

This is extremely sad and very irresponsible on the part of this store :cry:

You could always put your complaint in writing to head office.
 
In our Pets at Home, they give them their pellets in the morning and veg in the afternoon, therefore their bowls are quite often empty. They may have already been fed?

Yes, I wouldn't expect to see pellets and veg all the time - my two polish anything they're given pretty sharpish! They should have lots of hay all the time though, that's not good. And lots of room too.
 
I wouldn't bother getting in touch with head office to be honest. They probably have a set list of responses to certain complaints that they fire out without even reading your emails all the way through... and at the end of the day, they're part of P@H so they aren't going to do anything long term as it'd be bad for business.

I'd get onto the local Council. Look up the pet shop license conditions for your area, make a list of the terms they don't comply with and email it to whoever's in charge of licensing. The Council have the legal power to demand changes.

I complained to the IOW Council about a local pet shop - the owner's being prosecuted. It's definately worth doing. :)

As for the bonded bunnies, yes it is sad, but they are making money, they're not a rescue and they won't care about breaking bonds etc. If you don't like the place, stop supporting them and don't shop there anymore.

The only way you can stop these places doing things like this is to speak up and vote with your feet. :wave:
 
Everything about the place disgusts me to be honest. I can certainly vouch for the fact that the 8 pah stores we've visited as part of a campaign we're doing do not give the animals sufficient hay. Hence why most have sticky smelly poo stuck on the bare wood of the hutches, and why many animals originating from there have tummy issues, dental issues and are fussy hay eaters. This is from my own experience and that of so many people i've spoken with. We do all need to speak up and push them on the hay issue as the stuff they feed is too short, too dusty and too soft and most importantly too little. I always notice how high they put the hay racks and pull and handful out for the eager little buns/piggies to tuck into. They get so excited. I really can't stand seeing them kept on wood shavings, with no hay and surrounded by sticky poo and flies. Like I say it's not just the odd store either! The licensing points are far too vague and not species specific. A lot of the points leave grey areas where it's the opinion of the person inspecting that really determines the acceptability of a store.
 
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Everything about the place disgusts me to be honest. I can certainly vouch for the fact that the 8 pah stores we've visited as part of a campaign we're doing do not give the animals sufficient hay. Hence why most have sticky smelly poo stuck on the bare wood of the hutches, and why many animals originating from there have tummy issues, dental issues and are fussy hay eaters. This is from my own experience and that of so many people i've spoken with. We do all need to speak up and push them on the hay issue as the stuff they feed is too short, too dusty and too soft and most importantly too little. I always notice how high they put the hay racks and pull and handful out for the eager little buns/piggies to tuck into. They get so excited. I really can't stand seeing them kept on wood shavings, with no hay and surrounded by sticky poo and flies. Like I say it's not just the odd store either! The licensing points are far too vague and not species specific. A lot of the points leave grey areas where it's the opinion of the person inspecting that really determines the acceptability of a store.

I agree with you're saying completely, but there are many places a lot worse than P@H. Especially where I live. I think that's mainly why they get away with so much... The Council are busy sorting out the independant pet shops that are frankly awful and to the average person, P@H looks like pet paradise compared to those.

People like us, who realise it's not ok, need to complain and speak up or it'll just keep happening.
 
I agree with you're saying completely, but there are many places a lot worse than P@H. Especially where I live. I think that's mainly why they get away with so much... The Council are busy sorting out the independant pet shops that are frankly awful and to the average person, P@H looks like pet paradise compared to those.

People like us, who realise it's not ok, need to complain and speak up or it'll just keep happening.

I agree with georgie_f and with her Post #9.

Originally Posted by linzi1loveanimals
Everything about the place disgusts me to be honest. I can certainly vouch for the fact that the 8 pah stores we've visited as part of a campaign we're doing do not give the animals sufficient hay. Hence why most have sticky smelly poo stuck on the bare wood of the hutches, and why many animals originating from there have tummy issues, dental issues and are fussy hay eaters. This is from my own experience and that of so many people i've spoken with. We do all need to speak up and push them on the hay issue as the stuff they feed is too short, too dusty and too soft and most importantly too little. I always notice how high they put the hay racks and pull and handful out for the eager little buns/piggies to tuck into. They get so excited. I really can't stand seeing them kept on wood shavings, with no hay and surrounded by sticky poo and flies. Like I say it's not just the odd store either! The licensing points are far too vague and not species specific. A lot of the points leave grey areas where it's the opinion of the person inspecting that really determines the acceptability of a store.

The Pet Shop Licence Conditions have to be non-species specific. They have to cover all of the species in the shop.

However, I think that they cover all of the points that both you and the OP raised.

In the following, I have used the Wiltshire Council Pet Shop Licence Conditions as an example. Most Councils will have very similar/identical Conditions.

do not give the animals sufficient hay. Hence why most have sticky smelly poo stuck on the bare wood of the hutches, and why many animals originating from there have tummy issues, dental issues and are fussy hay eaters


Licence Conditions:

3. Where animals are kept in cages, hutches, boxes or other receptacles which are placed on top of other cages, hutches, boxes or other receptacles, effective means shall be provided for preventing water, food or other droppings falling onto or contaminating the animals' food or other surroundings which are underneath.

4. Animals shall be adequately supplied with suitable food and drink and shall be visited at suitable intervals. All accommodation shall be cleaned daily or as often as is necessary.

22. No animal shall be stocked or sold unless the staff (or a member of the staff) is familiar with the care and welfare of that animal.

I really can't stand seeing them kept on wood shavings, with no hay and surrounded by sticky poo and flies.

Licence Conditions:

10. All necessary precautions shall be taken to prevent the introduction or harbourage of rodents, insects and any other pests to the premises.


From the OP's post.

They are horrid! I went into there today and they had 4 buns in a pen which was, at the most 1m X 1m, about half a handful of hay which the poor bunnies were all trying to get and no nuggets or fresh food at all!

From Licence Conditions:

22. No animal shall be stocked or sold unless the staff (or a member of the staff) is familiar with the care and welfare of that animal.

4. Animals shall be adequately supplied with suitable food and drink and shall be visited at suitable intervals. All accommodation shall be cleaned daily or as often as is necessary
.

They also had 2 giant rabbits in a pen about this size and now one has been sold but as they had been together atleast a year they had bonded and the poor one whos left is so distressed!


From Licence Conditions:

22. No animal shall be stocked or sold unless the staff (or a member of the staff) is familiar with the care and welfare of that animal.


I got Summer from them a few weeks back, she was so so skinny, you could have cut your hand stroking her so was so thin.


From Licence Conditions:

22. No animal shall be stocked or sold unless the staff (or a member of the staff) is familiar with the care and welfare of that animal.

17. (i) Any sick or injured animal must receive appropriate care and treatment without delay.

Plus, in the case of P@H, the P@H Head of Pets has made numerous effusive claims about staff training, knowledge, experience, etc. (See "Easter Bunny" RU thread).

Also, numerous claims about animal care/welfare in their stores. Perhaps P@H HO could be asked why this does not appear to be happening in practice in the stores.
 
don't shop there

i avoid getting pet supplys at pet @ home i remember once we brought an guinea pig from them we brought it home and it had a gaping hole in its neck and you can see like its throat we did'nt manage to spot it because i was under the neck and the when the shop person lifted it out the enclosure she hide it from us so we toke him back and they offered us an replacement and i don't know what happen to that poor guinea pig
 
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