# Animal Cruelty In Pet Stores :|



## Rawriie (Sep 6, 2010)

Im pretty sure everyone here has been to a pet store in their lives, either to just look at the animals or actually RESCUE one. I have always Loved to go to the Pet Store; perhaps I should note that was BEFORE I realized something I had always failed to see. 

A thread I had made earlier was replied to by some really caring individuals, and I thought it would be really important to have a thread about it, (if none existed b4.)

So, any of you have seen Betta Fishies in those small, plastic glasses with some kind of colorful liquide in it? Im sure you have... 

I went to the pet store, a few days ago, for new aquarium decorations...and saw these poor little Betta Fishies laying on the side, in the bottom of the too-small plastic cup ;.; I had no money to get them and I feel horribly guilty... I really wish I could have... ISN`T WHAT THEY ARE DOING ANIMAL CRUELTY THOUGH? Sure, they are fish, but they are LIVING BEINGS && DESERVE TO LIVE, NO?
:redmad: ​
Do they wait for them to die? Or get really sick? What happens when they arent purchased by someone loving and caring?

What do you guys think about such cruelty?​


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

Well, the blue water is medicated for the shipment in, and then they are transferred directly to larger glass jars every Friday (where I work) 

And that's why I never go to Pet Smart or PJ's Pets or any big box store. 
IT'S DEPRESING!!!!


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## Rawriie (Sep 6, 2010)

firefly0101 said:


> Well, the blue water is medicated for the shipment in, and then they are transferred directly to larger glass jars every Friday (where I work)
> 
> And that's why I never go to Pet Smart or PJ's Pets or any big box store.
> IT'S DEPRESING!!!!


Where I used to go, the fishies all looked sick and dying ;.; I wanted to save one, (cause thats all I could afford with all the tank, filter, meds etc.. so I picked Blue! Did you do that too? && its really the same with all the animals...like, look at the lizards who sometimes doesnt have those UV light bulbs ;.; && I also heard that when Kitties dont get adopted, whether its in the SPCA or Pet Store, that they get gas chambered.....is that true? I hope its not...


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

The problem with buying the sick fish from a petstore is... They will only replace it with more. Petstores can buy bettas at wholesale prices, much cheaper than what we pay in the store. The money you spend saving one betta will mean three more could take its place and soon suffer the same fate. It is sad, and no one wants to let it happen, but when a fish dies, the petstore LOSES money. When they lose enough money they will buy fewer fish, or be forced to change their practices so the fish will live long enough to be purchased. I've seen stores actually stop selling bettas because they would die before anyone could get them. Honestly, I was happy that they stopped, they would fill the little cups with straight tap water and just leave it. Most of the cups didn't even have holes in them, and they were never opened until someone bought the fish, not even to feed or change water. But they don't sell bettas anymore, and they won't kill them anymore either!!


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## Rawriie (Sep 6, 2010)

purplemuffin said:


> The problem with buying the sick fish from a petstore is... They will only replace it with more. Petstores can buy bettas at wholesale prices, much cheaper than what we pay in the store. The money you spend saving one betta will mean three more could take its place and soon suffer the same fate. It is sad, and no one wants to let it happen, but when a fish dies, the petstore LOSES money. When they lose enough money they will buy fewer fish, or be forced to change their practices so the fish will live long enough to be purchased. I've seen stores actually stop selling bettas because they would die before anyone could get them. Honestly, I was happy that they stopped, they would fill the little cups with straight tap water and just leave it. Most of the cups didn't even have holes in them, and they were never opened until someone bought the fish, not even to feed or change water. But they don't sell bettas anymore, and they won't kill them anymore either!!


Are u serious? D: THATS HORRIBLE! Why cant someone who has the power to do anything about it!?!?! ITS SO UNFAIR!!!! ;.; So I killed three fishies because I got Blue? Im such a bad person ):


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe others bought those three fish, all it means is the store still has the power to keep buying them! People who do not care will not change unless their way hurts more than it helps. Unless they lose money, or lose customers and get a ton of complaints, why change what works, right? It's a business, that's the problem. Money rules in a business world! 

The best thing you can do, is report to the higher ups. Sometimes they respond, sometimes they won't. Or, educate people! Spread the word, how to care for bettas, how to know if one is ill, and tell them to tell their friends, and with enough knowledge it can stop. It's EASY to know a puppy mill, because the general population knows what a puppy needs to be healthy..they don't know about bettas, so they will continue to ignore the mistreatment

I admit I have done the rescue thing before. Our snake was one, she was the smallest in a ten gallon tank of at least 40 yearlings. It broke my heart, as she was just so full of the will to live despite her situation...Though it was a long road to keep her alive, she had ticks, infections, diseases, and parasites! Yuck! But I don't regret that purchase, I love my girl and I'm glad she is alive today, I don't know if she would be if I hadn't bought her. But I am upset I took part in that nasty scheme of cheap, sick animals!  I only buy from breeders now if I can help it, OR local pet stores that actually do their part!


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

I agree... sometimes you just have to rescue one. 

This is a horrible analogy, but it's like the grocery store I work at.. if we keep buying like, oranges, and no one buys them and they go bad, we buy less or we stop carrying them altogether. Each time I go in to the Petco I just bought my fish at, there are less and less little cups left on the betta rack... hopefully that number will continue to decrease. The next time I decide to bring one home I'll be looking to aquabid or to a breeder instead of a chain-store.


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## Rawriie (Sep 6, 2010)

@ both Muffin & Capricorn-Chan :3 

So basicly, if you buy some Bettas that are being abused at the Pet store, they`ll get more on the shelves? Wow...that`s unnacceptable! 
Muffin-Chan, you saved a Snakey? How is she doing? Why do they become sick with so many health problems in pet stores? Can`t they treat them too? ...It`s hard to believe that some people let this go when so many other living beings are agonizing...

&& How do you find Fishie Breeders? I want the cruelty to stop ;.;


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

Well when you think about it, it's like buying something at the store.. when they run out, they order more of it. It's sad, but that's the way it works. A pet store is a business too, it just deals in animals instead of food.

I know it's sad.. it's the same way with hermit crabs. If people were prosecuted for the way they treat them (and fish as well!) the way they are for dogs, cats, horses, etc, then I'm sure it would be much less common. 

As for breeders, you may be able to check your local craigslist for people in your area looking to get rid of them. I've personally been checking out aquabid.com and looking at the gorgeous ones out of Thailand and such.


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

I guess more people are standing up to betta rights lol. My petco takes very good care of their fish - and even my walmart stocks less bettas. The ones they do sell seem to be better off than what they were 5 years ago.


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## Phoxly (Jun 14, 2010)

There's nothing wrong with keeping a betta in a 2-3 cup plastic cup for a few weeks til they are adopted. Look at dogs at the pound, they are kept in cages til they can be put in a real home. Fish don't know any more than the tiny cup, they've never been in a larger cup so it doesn't bother them as much considering they are bred, raised, fed, shipped, and sold in small containers. It is not animal cruelty .____. so tired of the witch hunts who are out there trying to take down petco and petsmart. All that matters with these containers is if they are changed 2 times weekly, and fed atleast 3 times a week too.

So fed up with the anti tiny cup rebellion, it has been the same for hundreds of years of raising bettas, it is apart of the hobby. You should see the tiny bags they are shipped in...

/rant


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

No, no, I understand the cup thing; it's not efficient for a store to keep many tanks with one betta in each if they can survive in the cup, it's the fact that (in my area at least) the fish are not kept as they should be and are still viewed as a throw-away pet. There are fish that I saw this past Monday that, on Friday, were either dead or dying and at least appeared to be in the same dirty water they had been earlier that week. I realize that it's not something that happens in every single pet store, but it's sad that a business like petco which prides itself on being "where the pets go" or whatever allows their branches to take such atrocious care of their fish for the sake of making money.


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## Phoxly (Jun 14, 2010)

I saw 3 dead bettas at my petco, asked to speak to a manager, and told him I wouldn't be coming back til the fish were kept in better condition, and I wasn't going to buy from a rack that had dead bettas and dirty water. 

This is usually a lazy employee, and it was taken care of quickly.


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## Cutar (Aug 3, 2010)

I went to petco today and picked up a new betta  But when I was there, I saw 3 dead bettas. It really pisses me off. I got a guy to come over and I was like, "you do realize that you have several dead fish right?" AND i feel very proud because a lady was asking a petco worker about what tank to get a betta fish and they reccomended a 1 gallon tank! I pulled the lady aside and said 2 or higher is really the way to go and started talking to her and she was very thankful.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I always stay in the fish section of Walmart and if someone gets a fish I educate them on the proper care...it's the best you can do without buying them all.

I wish stores would just go for a large betta drip system with medicated water to avoid disease. Especially these chain stores, THEY CAN AFFORD IT!!!


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

My Wal-Mart doesn't stock fish - there's some sort of city/ provincial law that says that they can't.

I don't know about the large pet stores, but if we get our puppies from local breeders, and if they don't sell, then we return them to the breeder (it's usually within a couple months). We get our kittens from B.A.R.S. (the Barhead Animal Rescue Society) and we've given 6 of 7 new homes. We still have Tar, but nobody wants black cats! 
But ask the pet stores about where they get their dogs, cats, lizards and fish. If they're from in town, then they'll be less likely to get stressed during transit.


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

I agree on the small container thing really--makes transporting them home easier, and really it makes sense in short term--they hope to SELL the fish, not keep them. They are set up to sell, if people bought the fish when they are first brought to the store, it's all great. It's just the lack of care that gets me, some stores do GREAT, others don't. Fish is one of the few things that petco/mart do not have on their 'do it this way' rules... I won't let up that they treat reptiles wrong though! A small container is one thing, but some of the situations they put the reptiles in set them up to die later, even if they are kept in great new homes by people who purchase them! An employee at a petsmart told me that we would be 'lucky' if our baby leopard gecko lived, and that about 60 percent of (this store's specifically) customers report their new reptiles died within the 2 week warranty, and they have a bunch of complaints by people who have animals that die the next few days after that! 


I'm all for good stores and great employees, it's the bad ones I say 'boo!' to!


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

Rawriie said:


> Muffin-Chan, you saved a Snakey? How is she doing? Why do they become sick with so many health problems in pet stores? Can`t they treat them too? ...It`s hard to believe that some people let this go when so many other living beings are agonizing...


Maru is doing WONDERFULLY! She has filled out, gained weight, and grown an entire foot since our purchase! She has the best personality we could ask for, she is curious, spunky, but gentle and trusting. We have had to handle her directly on the head because of the ticks...and if you know snakes, you know they do not like being touched on the head and that can make them very nervous(which means they might give a defensive 'hey! Go away!' bite) but..No bites, she was relaxed, still tongue flicking but sat still until the tick was gone. Then she just crawled up and into my hoodie, and looked up over my shoulder at me! 

The biggest reason animals suffer so much is--and I'll say it again and again--education and the lack of it! We know what a healthy puppy looks like, we know what a healthy kitten looks like. But how do you know if a tortoise has a cold? It's hard to tell the difference between a unique face shape of a chinese water dragon and the early stages of Metabolic Bone Disease. People don't know what the animals need in life, and they aren't taught how...UVB lights are important, or that their lungs can get hurt by too much/too little humidity. We know not to give chocolate to dogs, but not many people know not to give citrus fruits to birds, or that giving iceberg lettuce to any herbivore is really practically starving it nutrition wise(Nothing but water!)

So, like a lot of people here have said, if you see someone wanting a betta, or any animal, just make sure they are informed on the cost of caring for it properly, and WHY those things are important and can't be left out!!


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