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Dannyboi
Guest
Is this law nation wide? I swear that people in SA buy animals from petshops without microchips. In fact I have been at the vets and they have been microchipping dogs that were in the petshop the week before.
geck82 is right on the money.
if you were to remove animals out of pet shops you would be stopping the only regulated sale of animals.
A breeder (backyard, puppy farm or registered) does not have any rules to follow. a pet shop does, especially if they are a member of piaa. But most of them are not piaa and they don't follow any rules.
Piaa members have a set of rules they follow, ie no pregnant animlas sold, no underage animlas (or customers), sick, cooling off period etc. you will also find pet shops as they are a business (yes they sell for a profit, but even breeders dont sell for a loss (most of the time for both)) they have a reputation to uphold so do privare breeders, if a retail business sells a sick, too old, too young animals its not good for business, after all you would not go back and you would tell others, does that have the same effect with a backyard breeder? Of course! pet shops, vaccinate, worm, flea control (and some desex and/or microchip), backyard breeders generally do not. Pet shops usually don't so any of that - they recommend those things. Don't tell me youre qualified (as a pet shop owner to infect PIT tags.
Now i am not bagging back yard breeders here there are many that are very responsible and do do all the right things, i have breed dogs in the past, and as i go over the top with most things i sold the puppies for a loss but also i was picky on who i sold to, i rejected several people from buying my puppies, that being said there are many that are not like this, just as there are many good pet shops and bad ones also. That may be so with dogs but we are here all about reptiles.
Does a backyard breeder provide all the information when selling a pet of any species? Yes, and much better than a 15 years-old lass employee in a pet shop. this dog cat snake etc will require you to do this that and the other thing. ok some pet shops also dont but generally a pet shop would give all the advise in the world as it could lead to extra sales in those products and that's the whole point. More sales. also gives a better service so people will return for future sales, hence why they are in business. The same applies to private breeders.
again not bagging breeders, there are good ones out there, but how many people have purchased a snake and was told by the breeder this are some cage, lighting, uv, food, mite, worm, feeding, heating requirements about the snake you are buying? or had a care sheet given to you from a breeder? More than usually yes. ok you may already know this information about your particular animals, many people who purchase animals do not, if you were to purchase from a pet shop at least you are informed about options, sizes weights, food etc for your pet, even if you dont buy them then and there at least you are informed about them, which is more than i can say for most breeders. What qualifications do pet shop attendants have to give such information?
Again not saying all breeders or pet shops are like this but at least pet shops are semi-regulated and there is a higher chance of getting all the information. Not in my neck of wooeds, unfortunately.
If animals were licensed it will make minimal difference, there are sssssooooo many unregistered dogs, cats, birds out there its not funny. Totally agree.
Whats that? register the person not the animal, that will work as there are no unlicensed reptiles out there or unlicensed reptile keepers......
impulse pets come from many places, and it is irresponsible owners that do it, not pet shops or breeders, do we really want to me more regulated? more money in licences? are bad pet owners going to bother about a licence in the first place? There can't be impulsive buying from a private breeder because parents with spoiled kids wouldn't be allowed pass the front door.
not that i have a solution for unwanted pets but licencing or removing pets from pet shops is not the answer.
sorry for being so long winded i am fairly passionate when it comes to topics about this sort of thing. I have been a orphan wildlife carers for many years, a breeder, a vet nurse, and now a pet shop owner.
Chris
I agree. I've heard lots of reports of cruelty and negligence sent off to the RSPCA and nothing has been done. Are they short on staff, money or general interest?
I believe the easiest and simplest solution would be mandatory de-sexing of dogs/cats before sale (i assume there is no issue in de-sexing an 8-10 week old animal?) except for people who are registered to breed.
I say only dogs/cats as it wouldn't be simple or effective to enforce a policy like this on other types of animals.