There are many problems with the pet trade - the most obvious being pet stores. While there are responsible pet stores out there, MANY are absolutely reprehensible. If you don't believe me, take a few hours to research the basic needs of common pet store animals (ferrets, iguanas, water turtles, parrots) and then visit your local pet store.

The majority of pet stores - even the "good ones" - keep their animals in small, overcrowded cages while ignoring species specific needs such as diet, lighting, and heating. In some stores, you can find dead and dying animals in filthy cages. (Don't be fooled - even the stores with spotless showcases can have sick and dead animals in Employee Only backrooms.)

The people that are charged with the task of caring for pet store animals are not always qualified to work with animals, let alone sell them. In fact, in very few pet stores are the employees given basic animal care training. (No store that I know of provides training for all the animals they sell.) Unfortunately, these untrained employees are often who customers ask for pet care advice. They are also usually the ones that provide "in-store veterinary care" to animals deemed worthy of it (usually only the animals worth the most money).

Due to ignorance or pure malevolence, some pet store employees can also be cruel. There are stories of pet store managers ordering kittens fed to snakes, placing live animals into freezers, and even willfully poisoning/burning animals. These people have no business being in contact with animals, let alone selling them!

In many stores, employees are taught to prey on ‘impulse buyers’. These buyers know little to nothing about the animal they've impulsively decided to purchase. They are not prepared to bring the animal home but instead buy everything at once at the direction of a greedy employee. Some of the more common impulsively bought animals (green iguanas, parrots, even dogs and cats) are completely inappropriate pets for the average 'impulse buyer'. When the buyers lose interest, these pets pay the price of neglect and improper care - most end up dead or in animal shelters.

Before they reach store shelves...

As mentioned before, pet store abuse is just one of many hardships pet store animals have to endure before they reach store shelves.

Pet store animals come from three sources:

• Backyard breeders - A "backyard" or "home breeder" is someone who keeps a number of animals and either breeds them deliberately or just lets them breed. They may breed dogs, cats, hamsters, reptiles, etc. They usually have no understanding of or concern about breed standards, genetics, socializing, or animal health. They usually sell their animals out of the newspaper or online but will occasionally sell to local pet stores. A backyard breeder who is successful may decide to expand and become a commercial breeder.
• Commercial breeder - Known as 'pet mills', these large-scale breeding facilities produce animal after animal, with only profit in mind. Animals are kept in rows of bare wire cages, fed low quality food, given prophylactic (preventative) veterinary care, and have little or no socialization with humans. They are considered livestock – not pets. The news is full of horror stories about mills that have been closed down due to extreme neglect and abuse. Even the more "responsible" mills are contributing to the overpopulation of dogs, cats, parrots, rabbits, and green iguanas. ALL dogs and cats for sale in pet stores come from mills or other unscrupulous breeders - no responsible dog or cat breeder would EVER sell to a pet store!
• The wild - Pet stores also sell 'wild caught' animals that have been imported from South America or Africa. These animals go through a long, complicated ordeal that leaves up to eighty percent of them dead by the time they reach stores. The survivors almost always have a long list of health problems that dramatically shorten their lifespans. Many of these animals are already being captive bred here in the US. Why are pet stores still selling wild caught specimens? (Because they are cheaper and easier to get, of course.)

The risks involved..

Not surprisingly, the chances of purchasing a sick or injured animal from a pet store are extremely high. When this happens, customers are often left to deal with the problem on their own. Pet store 'warranties' usually require that the sick pet is returned to the store, where it is euthanized or sold to another unsuspecting customer.

In addition to the high risk of animal disease, there is also the danger of zoonotic diseases (those that can be spread from animals to humans). Animals not properly maintained or kept in dirty conditions are more likely to transmit these diseases. Salmonella, monkeypox, and psittacosis outbreaks have all been linked back to pet stores.

Many pet stores are also selling worthless, even harmful, products. With the exception of food, and medicine, there are no safety regulations for pet products. Manufacturers can make and sell anything they want - safe or not!

The bottom line..

The bottom line is that the pet industry is about making a profit, not about the animals caught in the middle. In addition to the abuse that goes on in pet stores, there are many unscrupulous practices (cyanide fishing, production breeding, fish painting, the sale of unweaned animals) that feed the entire pet trade. Fortunately, as customers, we have the power to effect real change by taking action when we witness abuse and being more mindful in our dealings with the industry.

I created this website not as a 'pet store hate page', but as a source of information. Not all pet stores abuse their animals or obtain them from abusive sources. It is, however, important that action be taken against the stores that do. It also undeniable that the industry as a whole needs to change. Too many animals are being mistreated before they even reach store shelves.