18 or older to buy fish at PetCo

[wrs]

you have to be 18 now. and the bettas have bigger cups now.

i do think 18 or older is wrong, but at least some are getting better, not that some were ever bad though.

and walmart doesnt sell bettas anymore! well at least not mine, which suxs because they had the best ones, now im left with all ragged beaten up ones, or petco and petsmart.

another odd thing about my petco is, all the bettas look the same. everyweek a diffrent color mix, lol.

 

[luxum]

I'm sure the younger members here are going to crucify me for this, but i think 18 and up to buy fish (or any living creature) is a good policy. If you can't get your parent's approval and support for your purchase, you really shouldn't be buying pets. This also frees the company from litigation worries when a young kid buys a pet without their parent's permission, that they are not equipped to care for.

 

[wrs]

but how many people would go in and just buy the fish with out a tank? they would already have a tank and parents would already give there concent.

i think maybe like a note from your parenst would be better if your younger and drive there to get the fish.

oh, but if your parent drove you,you dont need them to come in. which is kinda odd as you couold lie

 

[SailfinGirl]

I think these policies are really good. It does help to prevent cruelty. In Britain, the limit is 16 years, not 18. I am perfectly aware that just because a youth reaches their 16th or 18th birthdays they do not instantly grow up, but they should be taking a lot of respoonsibility for their actions by their 16th birthday. I think the ban should actually be raised to 18 here as well. A 16 year old is much more likely to impulse buy an animal so they can have fun with it.

However, not all parents are responsible enough to ever come within ten feet of an animal.

A lovely lady who I work with has 9 guinea pigs, 2 rabbits and a cat. One of her rabbits was rescued by her nephew, as he found it being booted up and down the local high street by a gang of teenagers who were using it as a football. Do people like this deserve to own/buy animals? No. I realise npobody on here would be likely to do anything like this, but pet stores don't know what you want the animal for, so it would be easier to ban everyone under a certain age from having the animal.

 

[Ed4567]

The fish shop I go to won't sell fish to anyone under 16. Even though I am 16 myself I think this is a sensible policy- it prevents 'children' turning up home having bought fish which their parents may have no idea are coming, or even set up a tank for. It saves parents hassle and the fish shop from getting a bad reputation.

Having said that I wouldnt think they would have any problem selling someone fish even if they are under 16 provided that they know them well, and know that their parents are happy for them to keep the fish.

Ed

 

[luxum]

but how many people would go in and just buy the fish with out a tank? they would already have a tank and parents would already give there concent.

Well, i hope a reasonable youngster wouldn't be buying fish s/he had no tank for. But what if that tank is already full? What if the tank is their father's beloved discus tank and they are buying a Red Devil for it without dad's knowledge? Lawsuit, that's what! At any rate, if you have your parent's consent, they should have no problem going with you to the store when you buy fish. I remember when i was a teenager i bought a tarantula. I'm sure my mom wished that i had needed parental permission to purchase it, hehe.

i think maybe like a note from your parenst would be better if your younger and drive there to get the fish.

Too easy to forge a note.

oh, but if your parent drove you,you dont need them to come in. which is kinda odd as you couold lie

Well see? Your problem is solved! That is silly though, they should have to come in and sign a form or something, otherwise the whole rule serves no practical purpose.

 

[a1wonder]

I can understand where the pet stores are coming from and restricting the age of purchase is a step in the right direction towards responsible fish keeping. Another might be handing out information regarding proper tank set up with every tank purchase and expecting staff to study and be informed about the fish they carry in their department (although it's too much to expect someone to know everything about fish it isn't unreasonable to expect them to know a general sum of knowledge about fish).

This policy is obviously the same thing movie theaters have been fighting with for years. There are some cases where regardless people are going to break the rules but it is in the best interest of pets in general and in the stores best interest to enforce parental consent.

 

[bshockstubb]

I really don't have to worry anout my age when i go into my LFS or petco/petsmart. Even if Im under 18 they let me buy fish because they know me so well!

 

[leck85]

often, younger people will buy fish and not know how to care for them etc.


there are lots of 18+ ppl that come into my store and buy fish, and obviously dont know how to care for them..

at least theyre trying.. i guess

edit: another thing about the whole cup deal... where i work, the longest a betta has been in our store is 3 weeks.. im not saying 3 weeks in a cup is good.. but ppl have to understand that in a lot of cases, the bettas arent in the cups for long

 

[bbq1234]

im 16... and everywhere i go i can buy fish....... i have had a tank for about 8 months now and ive only lost about 7 fish now i havnt lost one in a while so i think if you know what your doing its ok

 

[wrs]

But what if that tank is already full? What if the tank is their father's beloved discus tank and they are buying a Red Devil for it without dad's knowledge?

but if the parents dont care about the tank, what will be 18 have to do with that? Some people overstock tanks that are older.

and i dont think you can sue a store for the red devil/discus thing. any 18 yr older can do that.

 

[luxum]

The difference being that 18 year olds are legal adults who are responsible for their own actions, whereas those under 18 are not, they are the responsibility of their parents, and i'm sure there would be legal grounds for a parent to sue a pet store for selling a pet to an underage child without their permission. Particularly if said pet of said underage child killed a tank full of expensive discus, just as an example. This is a CYA situation on the part of the store imo.

 

[StingrayKid]

My LFS knows me so, they dont need my parents to come in.

 

[Matty]

I don't think we have any kind of laws like that in Canada but we should.

 

[daniodude]

I am 13 and I don't really have a problem with the policy, I think it's a pretty good idea though, cuz parents are gonna know whether or not the kid got a pet eventually. It would be better for the kid not to get a pet in the first place then to have the kid hurt the animal while trying to hide it from their parents, and then return it to the store anyway, it just saves the store trouble and spares the pet pain