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Pigs & buns pet shop prob x2!

rabswood

Wise Old Thumper
While out and about today I saw a large privately owned pet shop. Thought I would go in to check it out and if they sold animals see what conditions they were being kept in (now I know that I can complain to the Council I feel better placed to be able to make a difference)

Anyway, no suprise, pigs and buns were housed together.

I went to talk to the Manager

Me: ''Hello (smiling) can you tell me if you sell the pigs and buns together to live as a pair?''

Manager: (smiling) ''Yes we do.''

Me: ''Oh dear, that's really not good practice, there are lots of reasons why rabbits and g pigs should not live together.''

Manager: (not smiling) ''That's not true, I'm a vetnary nurse rabbits and g pigs are fine together''

Me: ''one of the reasons is that g pigs need more vit c than rabbits''

Manager: ''yes that's correct''

Me: ''if the rabbit eats the pigs diet it will get the runs''

Manager: ''Not if you wean the rabbit onto g pig food, increasing its intake gradually, like us their bodies will only use what they need''

DIDN'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT

Me ''Another reason is that they are two completely different species, it doesn't matter when they are babies but as they get older problems can occur''

Anyway the conversation went on a bit but as she was the vet nurse I wasn't getting anywhere.

I asked if I could take her some information in as I couldn't remember the names of the diseases etc and she said she would read it. I also told her that P at H are intending to split their instore pigs and rabbits up and that it even says in their info leaflet that they should not live together.

To this she replied that Pat H were rubbish and didn't know anything anyway...

Taking info in on Monday, going to attach this web address and that of Rabbit Welfare Assoc. Does anyone know of any good piggie info sites that are against pigs and rabs living together?

Rabswood
 
Ok, so are the RSPCA "rubbish and don't know anything"? They say that rabbits and g pigs shouldn't be kept together! :x

I hope you manage to sort it out. Well done you for trying! Keep going!

AMETHYST
 
As well as the info sheet I have copied and pasted various web pages (including RSPCA and Petplanet to name two) along with their web links so that she can see that various organisations are against keeping them together.

Rabs
 
stupid people!!! grrrr :evil:
About the pets at home comment....
The new store opened on saturday right by me....
And I heard there was a bunny village - can you imagine the horrors going through my mind.!
Anyways I wanted to avoid seeing them when I went in.... but I went and hmmm I was pleasntly shocked.!

Gp and rabbits are separate...
girls and boys are separate!
they had plenty of good food - and plenty of water and lots of toys and things to play with....
Only one complaint I had.. was I thought there were a few to many boys in the boy enclosure.... but by monday there were a lot less cos they had all been sold...
and I overheard them giving advice about bunnies and it was all correct.

So pets at home have listened to someone!
 
I'll bet she was lying about being a veterniary nurse! She probably thought if she said that you wouldn't question her! Every vet I have been to has told me Guins and Buns don't go together!
 
Sorry, me again.

Today I went into the city centre and thought I would check out the animals in the pet shop (another privately owned one)as I have never been upstairs to look at them before.

And suprise, suprise...NOT.

Buns and pigs together, no hay, no toys.

As I did not have my rabbit/pig info packs with me, decided not to speak to the Manager but send a letter and the pack.

Letter is as follows (taken a bit from a letter elsewhere on the site):

Dear

I wish to bring a matter to your attention which although may not be anywhere near the height of any political agenda is nevertheless of importance to those who (in most cases unpaid) take on the responsibility of dealing with the results of ignorance and in some instances intentional cruelty to rabbits and guinea pigs. It is hoped that the more people that become aware of this the greater the chance a positive action may be taken to alleviate suffering in these animals.

As I take care of a number of rescue rabbits I came to your store in the hope of purchasing an additional suitable rabbit hutch but the largest hutches in store measured 4ft x 2ft and were not high enough for the rabbit to stand up on its back legs. I did see a double hutch outside but the floors were made of wire, convenient for cleaning but not suitable for a rabbits feet.

I do not feel that the hutches you are selling are in the best interest of the rabbits/guines pigs welfare. A single rabbit needs a minimum of 6ft long x 2ft deep by 2ft high, and access to a run for exercise.

When I went upstairs to look at the animals in store although they were kept spotlessly clean, rabbits and guinea pigs were kept together. This is a serious mistake and detremental to the health and wellbeing of both animals.
I have enclosed information from a number of sources including the RSPCA which state the numerous reasons why these animals should not live together.

I also noticed that the rabbits and guines pigs had no hay.
Hay should make up a large part of a rabbit and guinea pigs diet, as it is high in fibre, which is important for keeping the gut working properly. The chewing action the rabbit uses whilst eating hay also helps to wear down the teeth, which in a rabbit grow continually, and prevent them overgrowing.

Apart from a food bowl the encloseures which the animals were kept were empty. Rabbits are intelligent creatures and need enrichment items, toys and wooden/willow things etc to chew or they get bored. As a pet shop you need to be setting a good example to future owners. Unfortunately even today, most peoples image of keeping a rabbit is to put it in a hutch at the bottom of the garden and feed and water it, and if its lucky, to clean it out once a week. This ignorance in this day and age is totally unacceptable.

It is also bad practice to use woodshavings/sawdust with guinea pigs and rats as this can lead to respiratory problems.

My comments are well intended and I do hope you will take them on board to improve your animal husbandry. Please help to make 2006 the year that rabbits are no longer classed as second class pets.

I look forward to your response.

Yours truly,


The info pack I have put together includes the 'Why rabbits and guinea pigs should not live together' information sheet, and about 5 sheets copied and pasted from a number of websites, including the RSPCA (showing the web addresses) stating that pigs and rabs should not live together.

I have put these into A4 envelopes and will keep them in my car so that when I come across the situation again I am well prepared to speak to the Manager and hand over the info for them to read for themselves.

I intend to visit each store I hand the pack out to a few weeks later to see if there has been any change, if not I will phone the RPSCA to see if I can get them to pay them a visit. Worth a try.

If anyone would like me to email them a copy of the info packs I have put together please pm me with your email address. Even if you just hand over a pack to the Manager in a pet store and don't follow it up you are raising awareness.

Rabswood :)
 
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