Bad, Bad, Bad

[Miles_hot]

I agree with you Moochy - if specific stores are named that would be a lot better (you should of course name your store in a name-and-praise sort of way ) - I wonder if good stores are outnumbered by bad ones in more cases with PetsMart / Store / home etc rather than the good out numbering the bad as one would hope with chains like Maidenhead etc?

Miles

 

[KateT]

Regardless of how healthy the fish look, I would never buy anything from P@H (assuming that's who we're discussing). Not a sausage. The staff are often undereducated in species-specific animal care, and even those who do have a level of knowledge are under instruction to give out bad/advice in order to maximise potential profit (I have been advised that a 17l tank was 'perfect' for three goldfish, that I can put fish in after a week etc etc). I know a girl who used to work at P@H who left because the management wouldn't let her give out appropriate advise (she was big on fish keeping). They told her to only tell people what she was told to tell them.

But that's not even the key reason I wont buy anything from there. P@H don't sit well with my personal ethics and morals. They get their animals from intensive breeding farms, where rodents, rabbits and reptiles are mass-bred in tubs. Mothers are bred repeatedly and then culled when they are no longer useful. The health and/or genetic history of the animals is unknown because they are literally just sticking males and females together with no care for what could come out of it. Their animals (particularly their rodents) often have serious genetic illnesses that show themselves before a year of age.

Sorry for going on - it's something I feel really strongly about. If anybody is interested, I can link to a thread on another forum which includes pictures from a visit to a rodent farm.

Relating this back to fishkeeping, I'm starting to wonder where I'm going to get my fish from, I assume there are ethical breeders out there somewhere.

 

[This Old Spouse]

If P@H is this bad, and I do believe you, why on earth isn't this in the news??Especially if you can link to a video about unscrupulous breeding practices! Even place an ad in your local paper about their practices. Do SOMETHING. The longer they're left to do business the way they have been, the more their animals and fish will suffer because of it. Going on about it on this forum is just preaching to the choir.

I'm lucky enough to have a LFS or two that are reasonably good, and they're run by their owners so they can't afford bad press. Unfortunately the closest one is two hours' travel one way. The one that was up the road from me was forced to close because -- you guessed it -- bad conditions for his fish! Now those of us locals who wish to keep fish either travel the 4 hours for new fish, buy online or rely on local individuals.

What I would do is bring my camera phone to the shop that's got all the dead fish and take pictures and send those to the local press or whatever your equivalent is to the Better Business Bureau. Get the word out. Don't let them continue their bad practices.

 

[KateT]

If P@H is this bad, and I do believe you, why on earth isn't this in the news??Especially if you can link to a video about unscrupulous breeding practices! Even place an ad in your local paper about their practices. Do SOMETHING. The longer they're left to do business the way they have been, the more their animals and fish will suffer because of it. Going on about it on this forum is just preaching to the choir.

You're assuming that I've not been actively doing anything without asking me. A group of us have been campaigning for years - but quite simply, nobody seems to care. Nobody cares where small animals come from (though dogs and cats are a different concern for some reason... they must be more important...). P@H no longer allow visits to their 'breeders'. A guy nearly managed to clinch a visit two weeks ago, but the management changed their mind. They even said they'd have to blindfold him to take him there so that he woldn't know where he was going (assuming he would tell others, I suppose). That proves that they know what they are doing is wrong - what have they got to hide?

It's a great shame that more people don't know what goes on - sadly it comes down to lack of research. If people researched before taking on an animal, it wouldn't take them long to figure out that a mass-bred, poorly handled (for non-wet pets!) pet of unknown health isn't the best way to go. The only way we can stop this horrible practice is by not supporting the industry. Buying products in the stores supports the industry more so than buying the animal itself does, they make no money on the sale of animals.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Sorry, Kate. I wasn't directing my little tirade at you. I applaud your efforts!

Money really does make the world go round, I guess. Blindfolds? Yikes. I'd like to see 60 Minutes on this one.

 

[felybee]

I'm just wondering, I once went on a hamster forum when I was looking into buying mine, and they set up a list of breeders by area. Do you know if that has been done here? That would be nice to have a tropical fish list and a marine fish list of
local breeders. Maybe a whole new section on the forum with a topic by county for UK and US.

 

[This Old Spouse]

What a wonderful proactive idea!

 

[felybee]

Who is in charge of those kind of things?

 

[Gelt]

The whole idea of my post was to make people aware that these conditions exist, especially those new to the hobby , the more info people can get the better , all for the sake of the fish. Yes I will be writing two letters one to the managing director and one to trading standards. If this was a garage sales forecourt and the cars we not even drivable and roadworthy then it would probably attract more attention from the appropriate authorities .
I am not saying every store in this chain is the same, because I know that is not the case. I just want to give pointers to people who want to buy fish from a store like this into some things to look out for. So if you don't like posts like this simple.....don't reply!.
It's not a rant, flame or matter of me preaching just a negative experience I wish to share.

 

[PRW1988]

Everybody give LPS's a bad rap. I worked at a Petsmart for a few years, and the staff I worked with were passionate about the animals. Don't be mad at the company, be mad at the employee who couldn't be bothered. One bad experience may not mean your next one there wouldn't be a good one. It's all about getting to know the right staff, and finding those who actually give enough of a s**t.