Pet Shops: No Bargain for Animals

“Pet” shops use the natural appeal of puppies, kittens, and other animals to sell these animals at an inflated price, which is often several hundred dollars—and sometimes more —for “purebred” animals. Common problems in the pet shop industry include selling sick and injured animals to the public, failing to provide proper veterinary care, keeping animals in unsanitary conditions, and using inhumane methods to kill sick and unwanted animals. You can help bring about changes in local pet stores if you know what conditions to look for and what steps to take.

Where the Animals Come From
The vast majority of dogs sold in pet shops are raised in “puppy mills,” breeding kennels located mostly in the Midwest that are notorious for their cramped, crude, and filthy conditions and for their continuous breeding of unhealthy and hard-to-socialize animals (see PETA’s factsheet on puppy mills for more information).
  
Birds, rabbits, and mice and other rodents are often mistakenly thought of as “starter pets” and sell very well, so pet shops keep their stores stocked with them. They, too, come from mill-like breeding facilities or from mom-and-pop operations that aren’t even minimally regulated.

Sugar gliders, chinchillas, tarantulas, some bird and reptile species, and others are often called “exotics.” The journey for many of these animals begins in places such as Australia, Africa, and the jungles of Brazil. Closer to home, 20,000 prairie dogs are torn from their homes in Texas every year and shipped to pet stores.(1) The few laws and penalties that exist hardly dissuade dealers when compared to the money that can be made from smuggling: Prices on animals’ heads range from a few bucks for a giant cockroach to tens of thousands of dollars for a hyacinth macaw.(2,3) 

Animals in pet shops are often subject to inadequate care from people who are unprepared or unable to provide for their needs; many of these animals will be abandoned, or they will die from neglect or improper care. Please read PETA’s factsheet about the dangers of the exotic-pet business to both humans and animals.

What to Look For in Pet Stores
Healthy young animals are usually energetic and have shiny coats. Look for signs of ill health, such as listlessness, diarrhea, emaciation, dull coats, runny eyes, and dry noses. Sick animals should never be housed with healthy ones. Check the general sanitation conditions; notice signs of cockroach infestation, rodent droppings on the floor, and rusty or dirty cages. Also look for algae or scum in water bottles, empty water containers, or animals having difficulty drinking from them.
 
Dogs must have water (it can be in a bottle), and there must be some sort of solid flooring (if a tray is used, it must be flat on the floor). There should be no more than one large dog in a single cage. Look for signs of distemper and parvovirus: runny stool and clogged, dry noses.
 
Cats should have an elevated surface (above the litter area) to rest on. Water must be in a clean water dish rather than in a bottle. Watch for signs of upper respiratory disease: eyes covered with an inner membrane, runny eyes and nose, and sneezing.
 
Rabbits should have a water bottle, not a dish. They should not be listless. If an animal is sick, you may notice other animals in the cage walking over him or her. Watch for runny noses and excessive sneezing.
 
Birds must have a properly sized perch (i.e., birds’ feet should go three-quarters of the way around the perch). Check for other birds who might be beating up on one bird—this is especially common in smaller birds (you may see feathers missing from the head, back, etc.). A bird should not be resting on the bottom of the cage, which is a sign of illness or of having been thrown off the perch by others. Cages should not be crowded. 
 
Check fish tanks for crowding. Generally, an inch-long tropical fish requires between 1 and 3 gallons of water, so there shouldn’t be any more than eight or nine inch-long fish in a 10-gallon tank.(4) Look for dead fish in aquariums.

What You Can Do
You can help animals sold in pet stores in the following ways:
• Encourage pet stores that sell animals not to do so. PETCO recently agreed not to sell large birds (such as cockatoos and macaws), recognizing the inherent cruelty in confining these wild animals and subjecting them to inadequate care.
• Report any sick or injured animal to your local animal control agency or police department immediately.
• Contact PETA about working on legislation to require that animals sold in stores be spayed or neutered.

Lastly, don’t patronize pet stores that sell animals. You can purchase supplies for companion animals from pet supply stores or catalogs that carry full product lines but don’t treat animals as merchandise. And if you’re searching for an animal companion, adopt from a reputable animal shelter (please see our factsheet “Animal Shelters: Hope for the Homeless”) or rescue organization.

Resources
1) Jodi Wilgoren, “Monkeypox Casts Light on Rule Gap for Exotic Pets,” The New York Times 10 Jun. 2003.
2) Kevin G. Hall, “Trafficking of Animals Becoming Big Business,” The Virginian-Pilot 16 Aug. 2001: A1.
3) “Feeling Lonely? Snuggle Up to a Pet Cockroach,” China Daily 20 May 2003.
4) “Goldfish Bowl Do’s and Don’ts,” The Washington Post 8 Aug. 2004.