RandomWiktor
Rabid Betta Activist
Mmm, first of all, most stores would get shut down for selling a dying dog because humane laws actually cover THOSE animals. Additionally, they would actually lose money if 20 or so dogs died in their store; they aren't losing much money if 10 bettas that they bought from a shoddy breeder cheaply die. If anything, those crappy little betta tanks people buy is what is funding the business because its sending the message "yes, you can keep them in poor conditions; I will too, and I'll pay 10-20 bucks to do it."
And furthermore, the store conditions are not continuing to stay poor because of the handful of people that occasionally buy a sick one and nurse it back to health, its because of the THOUSANDS of people who know jack sh!t about fish and buy them anyways, have them die in a week, then buy another one, seeing as bettas are the ultimate "disposable pet." I've seen people buying fish who are blatantly ill and they just don't realize it. They probably won't bother going through the hasstle of refunding three dollars like I do when I take home the dying; they'll just keep buying them. If anything, this petition should be telling all stores to stop selling bettas because I am telling you point blank, unless the entire attitude of the general public changes, they WILL NOT stop selling them in poor conditions.
I went to Wallmart one week and saw 12 dead bettas, 3 dying bettas, and 2 healthy ones. While I was there, a teenage kid bought one of the dying ones because it was "pretty" (clearly didn't realize it was sick) without even noticing or caring that there were 12 dead ones there. Lets say the shipment was origionally 20 fish; they're losing more in dead and sick fish than they're selling. But it doesn't matter, because they know they can sell those 3 alive ones, plus a tank, plus gravel, plus a plant. Like I said before, the problem is more based in the public buying the crappy little betta tanks because it shows that menial conditions are OK. And also reiterating my point, if you buy one sick or dying betta occasionally, get a refund on it so they're not making any profit, and buy DECENT SIZED tanks for all of the survivors at stores that either don't sell bettas or demonstrate responsible betta husbandry, you're doing a much better service than letting them die in a cup.
Now, I always call, complain, and sometimes even leaflett. But it doesn't particularly do anything. Because, lets face it, Wallmart makes billions of dollars. If they lose one customer over a fish, I don't think they're going to care too much, because they'll still make their money. I mean, jesus, GAP won't listen to the public about CHILD LABOR. Do you think a few scattered phone calls from fish fanatics will change the world? I'll keep complaining of course, but like I said before and will say again: the biggest antagonist of betta welfare is not the occasional rescuers, but the entire mindset of the general public.
While I'm on a rant, I should point out that there is a big difference between "rescuing" truly ill bettas who are dying then getting a refund so that the store still doesn't profit, and "rescuing" one because you feel bad for it. Because, feeling bad or not, you're still just buying a fish and you're still just funding the store. Now granted, I understand that you can't always get from a breeder, but I would suggest if you are to buy bettas from stores, try and find the store with the best conditions possible.
And finally, if anyone yelling at good-intentioned people for "rescuing" bettas and thus fueling the industry has ever bought from a pet store (or even a breeder in some respects) a dog, cat, or bird... step down. Because there are MILLIONS of homeless dogs and cats being euthanized every day, and by spending $300-1,000+ on a purebred is telling pet stores and breeders to keep producing, which will only result in homes that could go to shelter animals being taken up. You want purebreds? Almost 1/3 of the dogs in shelters are purebreds. And with breed rescues, there's very little excuse for actually buying a dog or cat. Birds aren't much different; the rescues are exploding with homeless, unwanted birds, largely because pet stores especially will indiscriminately sell them to anyone who can wave money in their face. Even though there are more than enough second hand birds needing a home, no one goes for them; its always the nearest Petco or Petsmart. What kind of message is a $2,000 Amazon parrot sending to a store about how much the public cares about captive bird overpopulation? A much bigger message than a 3 dollar fish....
((sorry for the rantage, but I'm rather cranky today and since I work at shelters and have 6 wonderful second hand birds, this topic gets me angry))
They're just the person I was looking for anyway!
