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Petshop Rabbits

linnyloo

Alpha Buck
My local petshop where i work always has lots of bunnies for sale. They have always been priced at £35 each, but recently have gone down to £25.
When i went in there the other day i noticed two bunnies had stickers on their cages saying 'Please take me home and look after me' with the note NOW REDUCED TO £10!!! :cry:

It made me sad as these bunnies were a bit older than the others and they don't sell as well as most people want the cute baby bunnies. :oops:
It makes me so mad to see this as they are living creatures not something in a Xmas sale. I have already moaned to the shop once about having 3 bunnies in one cage and no water for at least 2 days as i kept going in there!! This time i noiced one of the bunnies had a red eye and kept scratching it and it looked like the start of an infection.

I have only 1 rabbit so i am not an expert but the girl in charge of the small animal section is always moody and looks like someone has hit her in the face with a shovel. Personally i get the impression that she couldn't care less about the animals :cry:

I wish they could at least hire staff that cared about the animals and what happens over Xmas when the shop is closed?.......i bet no one bothers to check on the animals :evil:
 
Its great that you feel so passionate about rabbits. Could you not get more involved with the small animal section and let them harness your enthusiasm? Surely the outcome would be better informed owners. Just a thought.....
 
Last night I went to my local pet shop, they do everything else well except that they sell too many live animals!

There is this one fluffy grey rabbit with ears that flop over at the top like a periscope and he has been there for ages, I first noticed him when he was a little baby as he was nuts always running and jumping in the hay rack and ever so friendly. I don't know why but as his friends were all sold he has stayed. Last week I noticed one eye was watering, yesterday both were and very gunky too.

I got him out and bathed his eyes (the manager is happy for me to handle the animals) then had a look at his teeth - as I expected he has a malaligned jaw and his front teeth are not meeting the bottom. They are starting to get too long and are growing away from each other out to the sides a bit like little tusks, he is obviously getting tooth root problems too (hence the running eyes) so probably needs the front teeth extracted. He also has a nice big pair of testicles appearing - hence he is on his own.

I spoke to the owner who is really nice if a bit of a dappy old fella and told him the rabbit needed to see a vet and possibly have the teeth removed, I asked that they contact me first before they take any decisions as I would rather take him to a rescue than see him put down. The guy looked a bit shocked at the suggestion and assured me he wouldn't be put down but they would send him to a rescue if no-one was prepared to buy him as he is - I made it clear that his teeth need sorting soon otherwise he won't be able to eat - I just hope they do something.

I am very wary I don't want to be seen as a bleeding heart do-gooder by him as I rely on the shop for crickets for my frogs and other emergency essentials and don't want to lose their friendship but at the same time no one will buy the poor thing with gunky eyes and wonky teeth!

Caz
 
Kent??

Where in Kent is this??

I live in Kent to and can never find any bunnies,

Lakeside has a petshop and they have some of the most gorgeous bunnies in there

Im looking for a dwarf, mini or netherland - either pactchy or harliquin colours, i found 2 there that were exactly what i was looking for and they were in the same cage and i just couldn't choose between the 2 as they were both the kind that i had been looking for and my bf dragged me out the shop because i couldnt choose!!!!

Im def gonna get some more buns though, as im converting our shed into a home for my bunnies and its quite big so i should be able to have 2 more. (fingers crossed) xx
 
Sam, I really don't mean to sound cheeky here and please don't take this the wrong way, but maybe if you could make sure that your vet definitely is knowledgeable and experienced in rabbit surgery. This is really really important particularly if you take on a bun which has evident health/dental problems and can save you a lot of heartache. :D
 
I work in believe it or not a place called Petts Wood!!!!!

It has the biggest petshop in the area but they still don't know what they are doing!! :!: :evil:
 
hiya everyone - you wont want to know this but i currently work in pets at home :roll: things have changed since we got a new manager, there is still alot more to be improved but at least now no rabbits are placed in small cages wether in the bunny village or through the back, through the back there is never more than four rabbits unless they are under treatment in a seperate room, we always take our animals to the vet no matter how small the problem is, the manager really knows her stuff (not every store is like this or as lucky to have an understanding manager) we now never take livestock from customers as we dont know there back ground especially when it comes to their health, as far as i am aware we have never accepted rabbits from "rabbit farms" we are lucky to have two very reliable breeders who previously worked here. we dont take in extra rabbits near easter or christmas but i do agree with everyone pets at home should not sell livestock at all, many staff are poorly trained, when i read every ones storys of there pets at home experiances am very ashamed to admit am part of pets at home.

i was shocked when i first started working here, most members of staff dont own animals or even seem to like them, :cry:

am not tryin to justify what happens in pet stores but they aint all the same! sorry everyone
 
Hi Debbie :wave:

there are alot of sad stories regarding p@h :( and its good that you have the oppinion that livestock should not be sold at p@h but i think we all wish that all petshops, not just p@h would'nt sell livestock :(

Its good to hear peoples experiences and agree, not all can be put in the same catagory, some rspca have different policies re: pts case so there are good and bad in everything :wink:

Just wanted to say Hi :wave: and hope you enjoy the forum :D do you have any pets :?: maybe you could tell us about yourself on the introductions :wink: :D
 
hiya denny! :D was always nervous of talking on here since i know how strongly everyone feels about pets at home :cry:

the forum is great i really enjoy it!

i shall introduce myself and my buns tomorrow as i have a hungry bun chewin my slippers at the mo! :roll: time to go i think lol
 
Debbie said:
hiya denny! :D was always nervous of talking on here since i know how strongly everyone feels about pets at home :cry:

the forum is great i really enjoy it!

i shall introduce myself and my buns tomorrow as i have a hungry bun chewin my slippers at the mo! :roll: time to go i think lol

look forward to your intro tomorrow :wink: :D :D
 
Denny said:
but i think we all wish that all petshops, not just p@h would'nt sell livestock :(

A difficult one that, I feel, we could debate forever and probably still not come to a decision. I feel that, if the rabbits are very well looked after and the buyers have alot of information given to them plus have to place a deposit and return a week later to collect, I think there is a place for petshops. However, I do not like the fact that one breeder can have a contract to supply a chain with all their animals - that is just farming. See I am debating with myself!!
Petshops no longer sell cats and dogs and there are still hundreds if not thousands of those in rescues, unfortunately, the sale of them has gone underground i.e. puppy farms and bred for cigarette money from benefit housing - not much better in my opinion. Personally, I feel that anyone who intends to breed any animal to sell on should have a license and any accidental litters cannot be sold for money but have to be either given away or passed to rescues at a price.
 
Apart from the selling livestock issue I had an aweful experience at the companion care vets there. I will never any go anywhere near one of those again and risk any of my animals lives but I know some people do take their bunnies there and have had good experiences. All our experiences are intersting to hear.
 
Towsbuns said:
Personally, I feel that anyone who intends to breed any animal to sell on should have a license and any accidental litters cannot be sold for money but have to be either given away or passed to rescues at a price.

You have to watch the giving away thing though, or they will go for snake food :!: Asking for a small amount is actually better for the rabbit.
 
selling kittens and puppies

hi all,
just reading through posts and this caught my eye.
Petshops no longer sell cats and dogs
i know this is partly a quote but where i live in bradford there are pet shop who sells kittens and puppies for large amounts of money for your normal moggie or heinz 57. :cry: :cry:
i am lucky then most for the experiences that you have seen in pets shops but i must praise my local pet store(doesn't keep kittens or puppies).he only takes 6 rabbits(not from myself but breeders) at a time are they are kept really well.they have toys, fresh veg and are handled every day by excellent staff 8) :D :lol:
if for any reason that one is taken ill a private vet is called in. from november time until spring he will not take any litters as he has said that they wouldn't sell and as everyone agrees bigger bunnies don't usually sell baby bunnies do.
but yes there are some really awful shops out there that you always wonder how they ever could sleep at night.
if for any reason there is a rabbit that comes in and need regular vet treatment.i.e teeth overgrowing. he does not sell but finds a responsable home for it and then even helps with the vet fees. :
there is never too many animals in there at any one time. male and female are seperated from day one. :D 8) :lol:
and he will refuse to sell the bigger breed of rabbits that won't sell because of their size when fully grown.
but yes there are some awful pet shops out there and you wonder how they sleep at night.
michelle
 
Just wanted to add my welcome to Debbie :wave:
Yes, Pets@Home have had a bad press over the years but being a bunny mum, the good thing is that you can educate those that you are working with and turn your store into a positive. So please don't feel wary of posting on this forum. At the end of the day you obviously work for Pets@Home because you adore animals - it's just a shame like you said that a number of staff members don't even seem to like animals!

Pets@Home is just one of a number of shops and stores that has had a bad press and animal lovers feel should be doing more for the care of their animals - hopefully with your aid your Pets@Home store can be turned into one that totally puts the animals first. All the best :rabbit2:
 
sonnet said:
Just wanted to add my welcome to Debbie :wave:

Yes, Pets@Home have had a bad press over the years but being a bunny mum, the good thing is that you can educate those that you are working with and turn your store into a positive. So please don't feel wary of posting on this forum. At the end of the day you obviously work for Pets@Home because you adore animals

Well put Sonnet :D Come on Debbie, I am really looking forward to seeing all 6 of your bunnies :wink: :D :D I think I can safely say that everyone on here is bunny bonkers :wink: :lol: especially that bunnyhunggggggger :wink: :lol: :D who is emoticon queen :wink: :D

Pretty please Debbie, show us your buns in the intro section so we can all say hello to your properly :wink: :D
 
I have just read this note and was appalled at the idea of discounted rabbits and that poor little rabbit with the gunky eyes and overgrown teeth. Then I read on to see that it was in PETTS WOOD! I was in the shop yesterday!!

They are a very well equpped shop where I get most of my bunny supplies but I always get depressed when I see pet shop rabbits. My first rabbit was from a pet shop and the lady wasn't even willing to give me the name of the breeder so I could get some background information.

Have you been to the pet shop in The Glades in Bromley? I used to get so upset in there because it was always so hot and all the rabbits looked exhausted. I am pleased to say they seem to have got their act together and have installed some air con. Did you find out what happened to the poor little bunny?
 
Please do me a favour, if you think any animal in any pet shop are not being looked after, contact the Rspca Crultey Line on 0870 5555 999, it is hard trying to get through but its worth it. They will send an inspector out to check the pet store. If the pet shop is keeping healthy animals then they have nothing to worry about, but if animals are in poor health or too young to be in the shop, then they could possibly loss their small animal licence and they will get regular visit to make sure everything is in order.
This way pet shop owners have got to face up to their responsibilities.

I know of 2-3 pet shops being found not to have a licence to hold animals or had licence taken away because of the state animals have been found in.

It is so important to do this, especially on the run up to Easter where many people are over breeding to get stocks of fluffy little bunnies in to pet shops. Unfortuntely they are being sold when there too young or with health problems.

I'm glad their are people out there who care, but if people took action we could stop this.

linnyloo said:
My local petshop where i work always has lots of bunnies for sale. They have always been priced at £35 each, but recently have gone down to £25.
When i went in there the other day i noticed two bunnies had stickers on their cages saying 'Please take me home and look after me' with the note NOW REDUCED TO £10!!! :cry:

It made me sad as these bunnies were a bit older than the others and they don't sell as well as most people want the cute baby bunnies. :oops:
It makes me so mad to see this as they are living creatures not something in a Xmas sale. I have already moaned to the shop once about having 3 bunnies in one cage and no water for at least 2 days as i kept going in there!! This time i noiced one of the bunnies had a red eye and kept scratching it and it looked like the start of an infection.

I have only 1 rabbit so i am not an expert but the girl in charge of the small animal section is always moody and looks like someone has hit her in the face with a shovel. Personally i get the impression that she couldn't care less about the animals :cry:

I wish they could at least hire staff that cared about the animals and what happens over Xmas when the shop is closed?.......i bet no one bothers to check on the animals :evil:
 
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