Should all animals be on licence and banned from sale in shopping centre pet shops

[Dannyboi]

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.

 

[Dannyboi]

A cooling of period is a good idea like a waiting period for guns in America? But goldfish are a plenty and I doubt they would put that kind of regulation on them.

 

[pythonmum]

Although pet shops get the blame for most dumped dogs, most puppy farms sell through websites and newspapers and these animals are most likely to be dumped. If all animals had to be registered, puppy farms would register as breeders and carry on as before. It is really up to consumers to make the effort to find out about the parentage of their animals and do some research. Making a real difference would require not only registration of breeders, but also inspection and making sure that bitches were not bred more than once a year, etc. Highly unlikely. This would also make illegal some of the most intelligent and useful dogs in the country - farm bred working dogs. I don't know what the answer is, but I own rescue dogs and try to educate people whenever I can. The situation is even worse for cats,and there is no way you can control breeding and sale of other small pets. Would you like to register and microchip your breeding rodents?

 

[FusionMorelia]

all animals not native should be on a strict lic system and ALL cats should be de-sexed and on even more strict lic agreements
out here in the bush its 300 to de-sex a dog/cat and on the central coast where i used to live it was 45 bucks......this does not help either! de-sexing should be done B4 sale! no dog/cat should be sold to anyone with the ability to breed unless u are a registered breeder!
out here we have rouge bush cats that are freaking MASSIVE and the toll cats have out here on the natural animals is outragous!
nextdoor alone i have people with 4 or 5 dogs 4 cats some rabits and a swag of kids i have Never seen the animals washed or put in their yard once! not one time, the council do nothing the animal catcher isnt seen unless somone gets bitten(last person bitten was a cop)
i have sent pics in to the rspca called them they do nothing either i couldnt even get anyone to come help a koala hit by a car and left to die on a hot tar road! i had to catch(not easy) and take it to orange(a 3 hr drive) and wires helped from there.!
the animal situation in aust is a joke!
so many people only think of city animals and forget out in the bush it can and mostly is worse!

 

[dossy]

i dnt think that you need a licnce for all animals. like fish, they are plentyful and they do not get surrenderd to rspca. if you make it breeders only then dogs will cost 10 grand for an avrage dog.

i think there should be a program for cats and dog that runs for x amount of days ( say 30 days) and u borrow an animal from the program runners and yu see if you like it. once you have done that you are sertified for life. and you can get animals from were ever.

 

[theplantguys]

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.

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, 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? pet shops, vaccinate, worm, flea control (and some desex and/or microchip), backyard breeders generally do not.

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.

Does a backyard breeder provide all the information when selling a pet of any species? 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 also gives a better service so people will return for future sales, hence why they are in business.

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? 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.

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.

If animals were licensed it will make minimal difference, there are sssssooooo many unregistered dogs, cats, birds out there its not funny.

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?

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

 

[Red-Ink]

I'm all for mandatory desexing and while at it it should be mandatory to surgically attach a pair to parents who can't say NO to bratty kids throwing a tantrum in the shopping centre screaming I want it... I WANT IT... I WANT IT.. Maybe we can attch the pair taken of the cats and dogs to them so they can say NO to the brats.

 

[Waterrat]

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

Chris, I can see and understand why you're defending pet shops. Perhaps if there were all like yours it'll be ok but most of them are not. I have made some points in regards to reptiles. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs may present a different scenario.

 

[user 16446]

All these opinions are great. They show the pros and cons of the ideas suggested, and there's even a few new ideas too. At the end of the day, the purpose is to greatly kurb the number of dumped and excessive animals that 'seemed like a good idea at the time'.

Perhaps it is the people who should be licenced to 'keep' an animal and recorded for every animal they own. At least you'd be able to see who has bought the animal, owned the animal and how long they've had it. This can have some benefits in cases of cruelty, neglect or just plain lack of interest over time. To state the obvious, this won't always work due to illegal activists and won't be suitable for 'all' animals, but we need to look at the BIG PICTURE.

Sadly to a lot of people though, animals are just that..........animals, and they don't have any importance or needs of their own.

This poll is not to mock others ideas, but to produce some, provide advice on the pro's and cons of them, and hopefully result in a law 'of some sort' to protect the majority of animals.

 

[redbellybite]

I have NO FAITH in the RSPCA at all ...they pick n choose what animals will make good headlines and stuff the rest attitude ....I know more private dedicated people doing better jobs then this over hyped business that is suppose to love all creatures great and small!

 

[user 16446]

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?

 

[Dannyboi]

Can't you call the police if its a real issue of cruelty? Actually you would have to get a cop that cares. I know a cop that has people come in with guns to shoot snakes on her property, I tell her its illegal, you would think she would know, but that didn't stop her.

 

[AUSGECKO]

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 think it's all of the above mate, I have made several complaints about a retail store selling reptiles under the counter in NSW, I even provided photographic evidence and still nothing done but thats a story for another day.

 

[animush]

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.

 

[TahneeMaree]

I personally believe that unless you're a registered and licensed breeder or shower, it should be illegal to own an entire animal (entire means not desexed)... so no animal can be legally sold entire to someone un-registered or un-licenced. Just like anything there will be a tough job policing it.

This should cut the supply, cut down on backyard breeders and the sheer amount of cheap "quick buys" and impulse buying cause you saw a sign on the street for moggy kittens. I know it will be slightly unfair for those on low wages, however, the RSPCA is FULL of poor little kittens and puppies and adult animals who are perfectly able to go to new homes... many of who get destroyed... so before people say that it's unfair to people who can't afford the cutout of the cheapy backyard animals, take a look at the RSPCA. (I've had my own family members hate me for this point of view)

People don't seem to understand that owning a pet is more than buying a cute fluffy thing, once you bring it home, it's your responsibility to care for it and give it the best life you can until it passes. The amount of people who feel they are disposable is disheartening. There should be a sign in the pet shop window with the estimated LIFE costs of the puppies and kittens that are for sale, it may make people think of the long term so that these pets aren't just bought in the mentality of "oh that's a cute fluffy thing and it's only $***"

I just don't understand the mentality of being able to adopt something on a whim then not wanting it enough to dump the poor thing.

 

[AUSGECKO]

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.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure dogs and cats can't be de sexed until at least 6 months of age. And no one (pet shops included) want to keep an animal in small quarters for this length of time, it's just not practical.