What would happen if we DIDN'T buy pets from pets at home and local pet shops?

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Flashie

This is a question that has ALWAYS bugged me - what would happen if we DIDN'T buy pets from pets at home and local pet shops? They would just get killed and others from breeders would be brought in. I was APPALLED when on the day before Christmas eve i went into my pet shop and saw a guinea pig almost identical to the one i had now. I do confess i got mine from the same shop but they looked the same, except the other one in the shop had ruby eyes. Seriously, i was horrified! mallethead Its all very well trying to stop people from buying from the shops, but we are basically saving their lives!

Whats your opinion on this? :))
 
If we stopped buying animals from pet shops and pet shops became supplies only then it would be a big dent to those who breed soley to supply pet shops such as animals mills. Guineas will never die out as there are responsible people out there who do work in improve breeds etc, which I don't want to really go on about as its pro rescue here but you can't mention pet shops without mentioning the 'B' word really!

I'm not sure I fully know the answers, my head is a bit fuzzed tonight but hopefully someone can put it better than me! :)
 
If we didn't buy pets from pet shop's/pet's at home then they would die and god know's what else.
I do think it is wrong that rabbit's, guinea pig's, fish, cats,birds & puppies are in pet shop as they dont get the care and daily requirements they need.
I don't think i have ever seen a good pet shop!

Reporting to RSPCA doesn't always help as they get ton's of calls a day and can't deal with every call because of man power.
 
I'm not saying that i'm not pro-rescue, i'm just curious because i think we might be doing them a favour. I think its so wrong how they haven't got what they should in pet shops and stuff, but if we don't help them, who will?
 
Just noticed you are from my neck of the woods Flashie! (I was born at Harrogate and my dads whole family live in Richmond.) I got my Tuppence pig four years ago from the pet shop in Richmond! I don't live there now but still. :)

The ideal scenario is that pet shops will not sell animals. The process of getting there is complicated, long and fraught with difficulties. At the end of the day, guineas as a species won't die out. Because not everybody will listen. There will be accidental pregnancies (human error will always be a factor, even in shelters, and true breeding accidents mean more pigs needing homes), there will be those who flout the no-breeding-rescue-animals rules, and there will be those who just breed for the sake of it regardless of anything or anyone else and sell on their 'stock' privately.

Individual piggies do suffer from being in pet stores. The trouble is, every animal you buy from a shop, the shop buys another animal to replace it. You can't save all those animals that they keep bringing in. You save the one you buy, which is great for that individual animal, but the next animal will also be in the same position and deserves a home just as much as the ones before it. By buying into that cycle and giving in to a pet shop animal, you are paying for them to bring in more and more.

Now I don't see there ever being pet shops without pets in them. I see a big increase in pet supply stores at some stage, but I think there will always be shops that sell animals. There will always be many, many people who just want to buy animals from pet shops and not bother with finding other sources.

There is no proper right answer on what to do. You research, you look up the pros and cons of both rescue and pet shop, and you do what you believe in from what you have worked out. You spread the word of rescue and recommend it, but that's all you can do. It's up to the person looking to take on a pet decide for themselves once they have done their research.

Education is the only thing we can do. Educate whoever you can, whoever will listen. They've got to make up their minds based on what you've told them and what evidence you've offered.

Confusing stuff!
 
hehe, Richmond pet shop is where i got my Flashie :))


i know thats the ideal scenario of the whole not selling animals, but its not going to happen, you can't fix it because to be honest, is severely broke already!

The only reason i bought Flash was because
1. He was the cutest thing i'd ever seen
2. He was in major danger, life threatening.

He was in with a rabbit and was getting abused by it (nibbles on the ear to prove it) and had clumps of hair missing, scabby wounds and was COVERED in mites, which i wasn't having.


i sort of understand what you've said! :)
 
Unfortunately, certainly to begin with, then the animals would probably be killed or sold on as food. This would certainly be the case until all supplies were gone. You will never totally get rid of breeders - as long as there is a demand in some form then they will exist.

Getting away from the pet shop side - there also has to be a certain extent of piggy lovin' so that there is baby piggies otherwise they would cease to exist. So there always has to be breeding of some sort - whether accidental or intentional.
 
As CCC4 so perfectly explained, when you buy from petshops you are basically buying into the vicious cycle of petshops seeing profit in small furries. You might view it as rescuing, but it really isn't.

If you're going to go down the stop animals in petshops route, you need to harden your heart. By buying one piggy from a petshop, you are basically saying it is ok for animal mills to run. Since they supply the petshops. Most likely the pigs not bought from the pet shops would end up in shelters, or indeed sent back to the mills where they are used for breeding or killed. Someone once said on a rat forum, that when you buy from a petshop you might be rescuing it, but you are also saying it is ok for your pets mother to be used in back to back breeding and killed when she looses productivity, for his/her's brothers and sisters born with defects not being given a chance, and for their brothers and sisters to be kept in the petshop under the same conditions your pet came from.

The flip side of the coin is that many guinea pigs from pet shops do not end up in lovely homes like the ones provided on the forum. They end up ignored, in small rubbish cages and end up leading very poor quality of life. I personally would have a pet shop piggy sent back to a mill and killed rather than life out a long, miserable, lonely life. (In an ideal world it would be rescued and given a wonderful new home, but this does not always happen.)

If NOONE bought from petshops, this trade would stop, but backyard breeding would still be rife and obviously not every pet guinea would lead the best life. It has to be remembered that as much as we want to, every little piggy cannot be saved. That we have to work towards a larger goal and that is by voting with our wallets and brains and not our hearts. (and encouraring and educating others to do the same.)
 
Flashie said:
hehe, Richmond pet shop is where i got my Flashie :))


i know thats the ideal scenario of the whole not selling animals, but its not going to happen, you can't fix it because to be honest, is severely broke already!

The only reason i bought Flash was because
1. He was the cutest thing i'd ever seen
2. He was in major danger, life threatening.

He was in with a rabbit and was getting abused by it (nibbles on the ear to prove it) and had clumps of hair missing, scabby wounds and was COVERED in mites, which i wasn't having.


i sort of understand what you've said! :)
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The sad thing about this is while you saved him, you gave the pet shop enough money to go out and replace him with another, allowing the same thing to happen to them and the pet shop to get away with it.

Can't say it better than CCC or Susie, really.
 
I would absolutely agree with what has already been said.

Anyone buying a guinea pig from a petshop is simply funding an individual/company's aim to profiteer from an animal. It is NOT rescue, it is making space for another product to fill the shelf and for that one to make a profit too. You are simply buying into the cycle, of course we can't stop it happening overnight. It is however a production line, it CAN be slowed down.

These animals are only seen in terms of business/profit/financial gain. The person making the money has no emotional attachment to them - they do not relate to guinea pigs as we do. Having a sickly looking single guinea pig in with a rabbit is a sick marketing ploy, but it sure does work, we don't know that there aren't another dozen out the back though do we?



On another note, speaking as a rescue, when someone buys from a petshop (and they already know about rescues) they are depriving the guinea pigs I have for adoption, of a new home. They are creating a bottleneck at the rescues - nothing going out means nothing being taken in.


So another way to look at things is ........ what would happen if no one adopted from rescues?

No empty hutches, no room for special needs piggies, no space for elderly unwanted piggies, no ill treated piggies being taken in, no babies being born in the safety of a rescue, just stalemate - just lots and lots of homeless piggies seeing out their lives in a rescue, never knowing what it means to have a family all to themselves. Who would be there for the future piggies if the rescues didn't rehome?

It does sadden me that even on a guinea pig lovers forum rescues still struggle to get across the message. If there isn't support from the core piggy lovers where else is it going to come from?
 
Totally agree with what has been said. Thanks for putting it better than me! :))

People say wouldn't they die out then if pet shops didn't buy them and but no they wouldn't there will always be guinea pigs and other animals. But Pet shops are not going to stop selling them, it will never happen. The thing is they would get more custom from those of us who avoid the shops because they sell animals. I wonder if they would gain more in profits if they did that.
 
i went to pets at home today, a family was looking at some baby guinea pigs, so i asked them if they had ever thought about getting some from a rehoming centre as there are so many that need homes. she said that she never had thought of it and never really realised you can get guinea pigs and rabbits from rehiming centers.. They left empty handed so hopefully they toke my advice :)
I also said it to a girl about 18 with her bf who were getting some, she had already chose 2 girls she liked and told the staff she wanted them. But when i saw her at the check out i dont think i saw her with any g'pigs..so hopefully she toke my advice too :)
xx
 
Great work Hannah! :) When I got Sunshine I did my research on his care but not on where to get him from. I never dreamt that you could get small animals from rescue. People associate it with Cats and Dogs! With Twinkle, no there was no excuse I DID know better but my heart ruled my head and it was the same with the Pudster but he was from the adoption centre and cost nothing. I wouldn't pay for him. But I won't go in anywhere that sells animals now as I take pity. I can't help it I'm such a sucker.

Education is the key and avoiding Petshops that sell animals. Just keep hammering that message home to those that don't know and it will do some good. I use Facebook as well to spread the word. Don't care if people think I'm crazy! :(|)
 
I'm not saying that i'm all for pet shops, as i'm not.

I was just asking, being curious, just didn't want you to get the wrong impression of me. :))
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
Great work Hannah! :) When I got Sunshine I did my research on his care but not on where to get him from. I never dreamt that you could get small animals from rescue. People associate it with Cats and Dogs!
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Yeah the mum from the family i spoke to said, that she only really ever thinks of dogs that need re homing. and never realized small animals did too. hopefully it gave her something to think about :)
 
We have a Hamster rescue here, well its on the Wirral but wow thats amazing. I was thinking of getting a Hammy for Caitlin (of course the animal would be mine to care for as Caitlin is only 3 years old) for her 4th Birthday and would try rescues.

Shame their isn't aquatics rescue. Maybe there is but not around here. :)

Flashie, don't worry hun, if you don't ask you don't know. It's a learning curve. I learnt all I know here, nobody will think bad of you for asking. Also nobody should feel bad for having pet shop pigs. I have three here and wouldn't swap them for the world. I've been lucky with them. But as I say I'm so easy when it comes to cute piggy lips and can't resist! :(|)
 
i had four petshop piggies before joining here, and have aquired sonny since. i got sonny as this really horrible family wanted him and it was obvious that they would mistreat him. i never knew about rescues before joining here, i could never imagine anyone do anything but love and cherish any animal (i knew there were rescues for dogs and cats though). i'd definately go rescue next time, for any animal. xxxxxxx
 
Unfortunately,here in Greece where I live,petshops are the only place you cat get a pet from...When I got my guinea pig (Sergio) I was apalled when I saw the conditions under which he was kept..He lived in the same room with chickens,cats,dogs,parrots and whatever else you can think of..He was bitten and sooooooo thin when I got him,not to mention the way he was picked up by the pet shop guy when he wanted to check if he's male or female,he grabbed him so violently and poor Sergio was screaming..It's such a shame..:...
 
I do a lot of rescues from pet stores.Mostly babies too young to be weaned and pregnant sows.If you do not buy from pet stores they think there is no demand for animals and so they stop selling them.In turn this also causes breders to stop or slow down as they cant get any money from the pet stores for the animals.I have even shut a pet store down completely! advertising and awareness of rescued animals also means people choose adoption over pet stores and the stores hand over the animals they cant sell.
 
Exactly Jess. Knowing that animal mill exsist also should put people off buying animals!

I do want a little hamster for Caitlin for her birthday (Peter is saying no of course...lol) but I'm looking around rescues. No way will I go to a petshop! No no no no no! :)
 
Thing is though, pet shops will always exist.

I think the local rescue from me is Thistle Cavies in Perthshire - so it's about a 100 mile round trip and they look for £15 per piggie. Parents/people have this choice or they can pop up to the local pet shop (nearest P@H is 20 mins from me) and you can get a piggie for £18 (discount for more than 1). People who don't know what goes on in the background of the supply of animals to pet shops will always take the easy option.
 
Exactly Angela. There are none here in Merseyside so in a sense its a niche in the market. I did contact Lymm Rescue here but they never got back to me before I got Sunshine. I do advertise on Gum Tree just to say Guinea Pig Rescue if I get contacts those I know who have fosters at the mo or Helen I pass it on. :)
 
Flashie said:
I'm not saying that i'm all for pet shops, as i'm not.

I was just asking, being curious, just didn't want you to get the wrong impression of me. :))
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I certainly am not getting any impression except that a debate is a good way of getting people's opinions.
 
Angeladeedah said:
Thing is though, pet shops will always exist.

I think the local rescue from me is Thistle Cavies in Perthshire - so it's about a 100 mile round trip and they look for £15 per piggie. Parents/people have this choice or they can pop up to the local pet shop (nearest P@H is 20 mins from me) and you can get a piggie for £18 (discount for more than 1). People who don't know what goes on in the background of the supply of animals to pet shops will always take the easy option.
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This is the reason why it's the duty of people like us who DO know to inform people on what really goes on rather than admit defeat and say "well, the shops are always going to be there so what's the point?".

It needs to be much more difficult for people to get animals - all pet shops do is encourage people to make impulse purchases of animals and therein lies the problem of why they end up in rescue.
 
Absolutely - impulse purchases of animals causes so many problems further down the line. When someone comes to a rescue looking for pig, they're usually so prepared and have researched everything first, it's lovely.

Pets at Home have changed their prices now too - it used to be £18.50 for one or £35 per pair, but I noticed the other day that they're now charging £24 a pair - in one way this is good as it means more people will buy a pair rather than a single one, but in another way this is bad as it makes them MUCH more of an impulse purchase at that price! And they carried on selling them over Christmas too.

I do not buy from Pets at Home or anywhere that sells 'livestock' if I can help it, the bulk of my food and bedding is bought from a horse supplies place.
 
daftscotslass said:
This is the reason why it's the duty of people like us who DO know to inform people on what really goes on rather than admit defeat and say "well, the shops are always going to be there so what's the point?".

It needs to be much more difficult for people to get animals - all pet shops do is encourage people to make impulse purchases of animals and therein lies the problem of why they end up in rescue.
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Totally agree and it is what I do now - to anybody that will listen to me. But unfortunately there are loads and loads of people who don't know about small animal rescues - they think it's just dogs and cats.
 
pet shop guinea pig

all my animals except the ginny are rescued. He came from a pet shop, my daughter got him for her son the ginny lived in the house but my grandson didnt want to look after him anymore so he came to live with me yay.I would try not to buy from a pet shop.I have 7 animals plus the ginny.:)
 
I have bought from a pet shop, from a breeder and have rescued... I also thought I was doing my piggies a service by getting them out of the petshops some of them came from;), but now I realise that whilst I gave those guinea pigs a decent life, I lined the coiffers of the pet shop and they got in more piggies to replace the ones I bought.... (btw every piggie that I have had from a pet shop have had mites and lice, been underweight and scurfy...)
I now just avoid petshops that sell animals, I live near a pet 'supply' store and the other stuff I need I get from the supermarket or online... I can't think of the piggies in shops or I would go and buy as many as I could! My next piggie would be a rescue or if I wanted a specific breed I would try to find a decent breeder...:)
 
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