fed up of pet shops being slagged off

[ziggy's owner]

yeah we sell double hutchs, runs everything, and we are up to date on our training, we never send livestock back to the breeders, if we cant sell them we find them new homes, with someone suitable, i have done that much training on reptiles, small animals cats dogs etc etc, so yeah we are up to date with all our training. and if we sell a rabbit into a 4ft hutch it is only normally for night time, and a lot of rabbits this time are year are only sold to go indoors, yeah i own rabbits guineas hamsters gerbils birds fish, and i know enough about the walfare of livestock, i also go by the rspca rules, which all customers have to sign before we sell any animals including fish, i find it very sad that you are all picking on me, trying to say i dont care about animals, i have a 3 legged hamster because i didnt want him to go to a home he would be upset in.

[swad1000]

I haven't seen anyone pick on you. They have merely stated there oppions on pet shops.

And RSPCA guidelines state minimum size for rabbits is 5x2x2 and thats for small rabbits, and that is in addition to a run which should be a minimum 18 sq ft.

[shaz]

Does anybody really listen and do what there told to do by a pet shop. I know i dont. If i ask advise from someone in a pet shop and they tell me info and i dont think its right then i dont do it. As for people keeping the pets in small cages then there to blame aswell as the person in the shop that told them its ok. They should of done some reasearch before taking on any animal. If a shop assistant told you that it was safe to jump infront of a moving train, would you????

[ziggy's owner]

if i dont know what the hell i'm talking about i wouldnt tell people it... also i have dont the pet care trust, amtra, reptile training by pere, that much training, but the rspca inspect us and have never made any bad comments about us, and the rspca have given animals more rights, and if a rabbit had a 100 sq's to run around in wtf is ur prob with a 4ft hutch @ night to keep them safe, but hey wtf would i know only been in the job 10 years and a livestock supervisor, guess i know jack ****

[Pussygalore]

Ziggy no one is picking on you but you started the thread, if you didn't want to hear the negative answers that many of us feel then maybe you shouldn't have started the thread at all. I personally hate to see rabbits and guineapigs kept inside in what are sold as adequate indoor houses, where the animal can maybe move two or three steps in either direction, I also don't believe that the climate that is found inside a house is suitable for an animal that is designed to live outside in the fresh air, to me its as bad as keeping a horse in a stable all the time, you only have to watch the behaviour in wild rabbits to see the enjoyment they get from running around on a nice day and i also think that as grazers they are designed to have their stomachs semi full all the time with grass not hay or rabbit pellets fed to them once or twice a day. Sorry if that offends or upsets people but its just my way of thinking. Can I just add that as far as I know the RSPCA don't inspect any shops unless they have been called in by a member of the public, inspecting is done by the enviroment officer from the local council and I'm sorry but I don't always have a lot of respect for an organisation that pays its office staff way over the average wage yet lays off its inspectors and lets its kennels and animal accomodation run down to the point of neglect in some cases

[ziggy's owner]

so you would rather see a rabbit die from cold weather because its been in a warm store than outside.... and our indoor cages are 5ft, which in the size the rspca say, and we aint ............... who dont care about there animals, and dont know anything, but if you would rather see rabbits being housed outside when they are used to a warm shop then u might as well just ring there necks save them freezing to death, mine live outside all year cause they are used to the weather changing,

edited to remove shop name

[swad1000]

The RSPCA don't set sizes for pet shop cages. They are laid down by the government, all the RSPCA can do is inspect pet shops to make sure they are adhering to the minimum standards laid out by the government.

And the RSPCA haven't given any animals any more rights, they have zero power to do so, they have no legistative power at all, and can only work with the laws set out by the government.

A four foot hutch is not considered suitable housing for a rabbit irrespective of what size run they have.


You started this thread saying your sick of pet shops being slagged off, and so far with your attitude you are just reinforcing peoples negative view of them.

As for you being a livestock supervisor for 10 years, whats that got to do with anything part of the problem with petshops is that they give out, out dated advice.

I also know farmers that have been farmers for 40 years and been done for animal cruelty, so working with animals for a length of time does not mean anything.

[ziggy's owner]

no it dont but all our advice is updated, we go on alot of training and also our rabbits aint kept in hutchs in the shop, they are kept in natural housing, they have a 6ft run, birds are in a avairy and hamsters are in a unit which i dont like, but nothing i can do about it, but i keep them clean and health check them daily, and i dunno how you can blame me for pet shops, i only work in one, which most of u have probs never heard off, and no i aint being funny just sayin

[Pussygalore]

you've just stated the reason why I wouldn't buy from a shop what I consider an outside animal at this time of year, we have just replaced an aviary cockatiel and she had to come from an outside aviary not a shop as she was to go outside. Whether you sell a hutch or not the odds are that any rabbit etc will be put outside when it gets home so maybe they shouldn't be sold in the winter at all, I'm saying that rabbits are now brought as 'house rabbits' and thats where they stay all thier lives not just comming inside for the winter, my guinea pigs have always been brought inside to the conservatory where they had a section of the floor partitioned off, this year they are lucky, they have the 6x4 tort shed which has a tubular heater on all the time. The torts are hibernating and the shed free, they have outside access to the garden everyday with the ramp from the shed, I don't think any of the hutches sold are either insulated or made well enough to last our winters for very long and personally wouldn't leave any animal in one without extra protection, any hutches we get are automatically insulated and are covered in roofing felt all over not just the roof, we usually have to strengthen the catches and often the hinges as I don't consider them predator proof, talk about making a profit for what you pay most of them are rubbish.

[swad1000]

A lot of it isn't pet shops fault per se, as what they are doing is perfectly legal. I'm sure legally a hutch of smaller than 4 foot would meet legal standards.

But while pet shops sell small hutches, people will buy them thinking they are all they need, for a lot of people who just buy a single rabbit for the kids they will just go on that.

Standards that the RSPCA call for are higher than what would legally be allowed, but what the RSPCA try is raise animal standards, that hopefully may one day be brought into legisalation.

As for animal training for pet shop workers/ owners most of this is aimed at minimum standards and staying the right side of the law, not raising standards or best possible care.