Let Petshops Know What You Think!

Nice Idea. I always do it in person though. Ask to speak to a manager and tell them and then show them, usually they just don't realise and will do their best to make it right, but it they don't warn them that you will be contacting the authorities.
 
You know the problem is not always with the pet stores.
Often times it's consumers who are unwilling to pay for the bigger hutch / cage...which makes demand for the smaller / cheaper versions much greater.

You should see the faces on some customers when I try and talk them into getting a dog crate, or sourcing NIC cubes, or even using a shed, or making an indoor playpen. "We don't have the space" "It's too expensive" are just some of the replies. "THen don't buy the bunny and force them to live in crappy accomodation you moron" is what I'd love to respond.

If people emailed pet stores about the slemka storage cubes that B&Q currently have on order, and got them to stock them, along with examples of the brill condo's you can make, or other alternatives - maybe they's listen. You need to provide the pet stores with cheap alternatives I guess - that would be in demand.

Just my thoughts from working in a store. ;)
 
In my opinion most pet stores are only in business to make money. They will leave the education and welfare of animals to the rescue centres and welfare organisations.

They will only sell what will make them the most money and where space is at a premium, they will sell items that make them the most profit per sq ft.

Selling animals brings in the customers; lets face it most kids aren't going to get too excited about visiting a pet store that sells practical, suitable pet related items if there are no furries to look at.

So pet stores will always think that they need to sell animals to get us through the doors. They need high turnover so that they don't have to care for the animals when they get ill or need special attention.

They sell pet foods, toys and treats that actually appeal to the pet carer/owner and that are not necessarily suitable for the animal itself. How many of us have bought things that we thought the animal would like only to find that they would rather play with the packaging, much like children.

We must vote with our feet. Any ideas to get the pet stores to listen to what is a minimum in terms of animal welfare is a must. Whilst the ideal scenario is that they stop supplying animals, I think that this is a long way off happening, so we must just make all stores realise that we won't spend our precious income in their store if they don't listen to us.

Write letters, talk to the staff and tell them your concerns, lobby your MPs.

It WILL all help, small steps....
 
well done

pet shops are terrible i have had two rabbits die from pet shops and one another one had to be put down cause we discovered it had myxi.
 
That's really good the guinea pig and rabbit one applies to my local pet shop so I will definitely use it. Thanks.
 
Does anyone like their local pet stores? I have found almost no people that do I am lucky and have a very good pet store in my area I acutally buy rabbits and lots of other animals there this is a very good Idea
 
My first rabbit was bought from a pet shop. The woman didn't vaccinate any of them before selling although she told us they had been. Thumper had caught something (don't know exactly what as I was only young). I only wish I was old enough to tell her what for, although my mum did. He had a very short life due to an accident which I will not go in to. We then bought Biscute from a respectable breeder. I would never buy from a pet shop unless I knew they were respectable and looked after their rabbits. I am now old enough to make my own decisions and I have to admit when I wanted another rabbit (or 2) going to a pet shop or breeder never entered my head. I wanted to rescue. I don't disagree with pet shops or breeders aslong as they look after their animals well.
 
pet shops that care....

Hi, I am not too sure if I am repling in the right place.
I agree with you there are too many pet shops that only care about the money not the animals etc....
BUT I live in a smallish village, but this pet shop is so different, they actually care about their animals they sale. They only sale mainly fish, rabbits, guinnea pigs and hamsters, but all the animals have the correct and much more space.
All the food, toys and all the other things they sale are reasonable priced(not like some of the bigger pet shops) They themselves are animal lovers, and have a dog that often greets the customers by wanting his tummy stroked LOL, and they have numerous of ferrets.
It's a family run business and the sister has rabbits, if a rabbit is taken ill ( which at one time one of the babies were), they took home the ill baby and found out what was wrong and nursed him back to health, it wasn't anything serious but this is what makes me feel happy to spend money in their shop.
Also, they sale information books on the animals including horses etc... they also give out information leaflets on how to look after the animal you are buying, it is only basic but atleast it gives you an idea to start you off.
I thought you would like to hear that there are some pet shops that actually care about the animals not their profit margins.
Brooksey
 
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I work in a local pet shop in Fife during the weekends. I have worked there for over a year now and to be completely honest the majority of the time i hate it.

When i first started i knew nothing and had no pets except 2 dogs. I got two rabbits and one of them had babies unknowingly. I have kept all 4 babies so now have 6 rabbits. After my rabbit had babies i started to sit for hours finding out everything i could on bunnies and found this site which has helped me alot.

Anyway in my shop our animals get cleaned everyday with fresh food and water and at the end of the day get a bundle of hay (which i think they should have all the time) we never keep rabbits and guinea pigs together and tell customers not to keep them together. We give advice on Myxi, housing, food and cleaning.

What i disagree is my collegues sell the smallest hutch/cage they can with the rabbits so the customer wont mind paying for it. And on occasion my colleges have FORGOTTEN to tell the customer to buy hay, which is very vital to the diet. Now my colleges have rabbits or guinea pigs of their own so how can they forget something s importana.

Another thing i hate is some customers come into the shop with their children, the kids see cute fluffy bunnies, want one and ask for one, so their parents buy an animal without thinking about who will take the responsibility when the kids get "BORED" with their pet.

Also the shop i work in sell almost no rabbit toys and so many unhealthy treats, i go to pets at home as they sell a larger variety of toys, so im going against my shop and paying more money for my bunnies.

My bunnies are my heart and soul, they are not just 'PETS' to me they are my friends and a part of the family. My little girl fudge is my BEST BEST friend, she is the only one i can turn to when i need someone. They say dog is a mans best friend, well rabbits are mine.

I wish people would treat them like they have feelings, because they do and they depend on us to live. Give them a chanceto be happy and they will give you and lifetime of happiness. :D:oops:
 
the petshop i help mout at sells just food and animals hutches toys ect no pets

but i have only had 2 run ins with pet shops and i love some of the naimals i have got from pet shops and the ones i have been to have rabbits and guineas sepret and its all ok

but if there is a pet shop that is not up to healthy and safty of the naimals then

TAKE THEM DOWN!!! :lol:
 
rabbitangel said:
Just that erm....pet stores provide the vast amount of money to pet food manufacturers...so erm...yeah. Get my drift. So I wouldn't cut them off 100%, I would still like to be able to feed my rabbit.
Click to expand...

It's not like the food won't be sold because people have boycotted shops selling live animals. The manufacturing companies will sell the same amount of food and make the same amount of money, it's just people would be supporting animal-free businesses.


AllForTheAnimals said:
Does anyone like their local pet stores? I have found almost no people that do I am lucky and have a very good pet store in my area I acutally buy rabbits and lots of other animals there this is a very good Idea
Click to expand...
I'm not particularly happy with either of mine. One doesn't sell livestock but sells all those terrible brightly coloured treats, tiny hutches and no runs, the other in the town sells livestock from rodent farms and all the enclosures are tiny. They have no idea what they are talking about (were selling sugar gliders and didn't know what their diet should be, told me zebra mice would be fine with fancy mice, etc).
There's another pet shop about an hour away which again sells tiny hutches and no runs but I do buy my mice in there because I know the breeder they come from is a lovely local lady and I've visited back when she sold to the public. Then there's P@H, which aside from the fact they source from breeding farms, is pretty good.
I buy the vast majority of my stuff from zooplus, no selling animals, lots of nice natural treats and good value. :)

Great thread, I've tried writing before but never put it in terms of the fact they'd be losing X amount of business, might be worth a go!
 
Thanks for this. I used the rabbit and guinea pig part for my complaint letter to Pets At Home - today there was a rabbit and a guinea pig together in the ADOPTION section. :roll: Apparently they were "best of friends", therefore must be re homed together... it made me so angry, especially since they are doing their "Support Adoption For Pets" campaign. I can't think of any rescue charity that would recommend that you house rabbits and guinea pigs together!
 
Went into P&H Redditch today, must have been at least 10 rabbits in 1 of the front pens, 2 bottles bone dry, not even any dregs in them.
Told the guy serving on the till, then made a point of waiting by the pen until they we're given water - some 10 minutes later :roll:

Pet Centre, Shirley is housing rabbits in Fish Tanks :cry:
 
As someone in the market for buying a hutch/rabbits at the moment, it's an absolute minefield.

The majority of hutches are dire. We've spent nearly a day trawling the internet for an easy solution (i.e a 6ftx2ft hutch on top of a 8ft run) - nigh on impossible. The closest I've got is a hutch with a 6ft run underneath it which isn't too bad, I am sure I could DIY increase it by 2ft for when the bunnies grow.

And when it comes to actually acquiring the rabbits from a responsible source... Christ. Pets4homes is the easiest, but is it trustworthy? Who knows - I suspect it's hit and miss...

I would like to rehome a couple of rabbits but I would quite like them to be 3-6 months old (and preferably coupled up already), and all the centres near my have rabbits in sets of.... three which I feel would be a little too much for us.

The search goes on!
 
Chrisrules334 said:
As someone in the market for buying a hutch/rabbits at the moment, it's an absolute minefield.

The majority of hutches are dire. We've spent nearly a day trawling the internet for an easy solution (i.e a 6ftx2ft hutch on top of a 8ft run) - nigh on impossible. The closest I've got is a hutch with a 6ft run underneath it which isn't too bad, I am sure I could DIY increase it by 2ft for when the bunnies grow.

And when it comes to actually acquiring the rabbits from a responsible source... Christ. Pets4homes is the easiest, but is it trustworthy? Who knows - I suspect it's hit and miss...

I would like to rehome a couple of rabbits but I would quite like them to be 3-6 months old (and preferably coupled up already), and all the centres near my have rabbits in sets of.... three which I feel would be a little too much for us.

The search goes on!
Click to expand...

P@H isn't the best but I can really appreciate why people are tempted to get the adoption buns out of those glass tanks. The younger ones are often mis-sexed (many a unexpected litter on here when someone thinks they've bough two boys / girls). They frequently seem to have the snuffles too. at least most rescues will give you the heads up about any health problems. Rescuing at around 6 months would let you avoid the stress & expense of spaying / neutering. There are quite a few rescues that will rehome further afield too. Any on the rehome section of here that would suit?

Thats interesting about lots of trios available - its a nice number of bunnies to have;)

I don't know much about hutches but read on here that Boyles & Manor Pet Housing are good (I think, please correct me anyone if I'm wrong). Aviaries & playhouses & sheds seem popular & I can understand why.
 
To be fair to P@H from the perspective of looking after the rabbits in their care - it was good.
They had ice snugglesafes, iced bottles and some tiles for them to sit on to keep cool as it was a hot day.

On the other hand, as I put in my housing post, there's NO hutches that meet RWAF hutches sold by any of these retailers (in the shops anyway).

I did find a hutch I liked from Dunster - but then found posts on here heavily suggesting not to go there lol.

The hunt continues...
 
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