PETCO's Bad Business Is Bad for Animals
"It is clear that PETCO has no regard for the well-being of the animals it peddles ..."
—P!nk
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After three years of documenting
abysmal conditions at PETCO
and issuing repeated warnings,
citations and complaints that
went unheeded, the City of San
Francisco had seen enough of a “pattern
of brazen violations,” as the city attorney
called it, and sued to bar PETCO from
selling animals in its San Francisco stores.
That was last June.
In August, PETA alerted pop star P!nk to the plight of animals in PETCO stores across the country. She fired off a letter to CEO Brian Devine.“It is clear that PETCO has no regard for the well-being of the animals it peddles,” she wrote.“I join PETA’s plea for PETCO to stop selling live animals altogether. Furthermore, I’ll be posting a link to PETA.org from my own Web site, PinksPage.com, so that my fans know why they should boycott PETCO — unless, of course, you have the courtesy to act on this disgraceful situation.”
In November, with complaints
regarding the chain’s routine cruelty and
neglect to animals in its care continuing to
flood our office, we filed a complaint
against PETCO with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC).We cited the
company’s failure to disclose any statistics
or discuss the liabilities relating to
PETCO’s sale of small animals in its
2001 prospectus and annual report.
Also unmentioned: systemic problems in its operations, including untrained and poorly qualified staff, abhorrent conditions for the animals, animal death rates, unsold “surplus” animals, animal diseases and injuries, inadequate veterinary care, contracts with animal-breeding mills, the use of illegal killing methods and an inventory system that treats animals as “stock” without regard to overcrowding or inhumane living conditions.
PETA’s complaint notes that PETCO has failed to address the litany of staff and consumer complaints and legal actions leveled against the company concerning its animal care, practices that could conflict with the ethics of investors who demand humane treatment of animals.
PETA is asking the SEC to require
PETCO to include this information in its
next report to ensure that investors will
be able to make informed investment
decisions. “Investors rightfully expect full
disclosure in order to evaluate company
practices,” says Daphna Nachminovitch,
PETA’s manager of domestic animal issues
and abuse.“For a company that claims to
care about animals, there has been a
conspicuous absence of any statistics
regarding animals in PETCO’s securities
reports.”
• Monitor your local PETCO.
• Call PETA or visit PETCOCruelty.com for ways you can help.
• Demand an end to the selling of animals in PETCO stores. Contact:
Brian K. Devine, CEO
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
9125 Recho Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Tel.: 858-453-7845, ext. 3046
Fax: 858-677-3095
E-Mail: BrianD@petco.com
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