walmart betta cruelty

[purple_drazi]

Bettamomma - you go girl!!

I reported someone who was intentionally fighting bettas and advertising - looking for others to fight bettas with.

I think I came across those same people as well, sort of stumbled over them while I was looking for info on bettas in Toronto. I was disgusted but I didn't know what I could do about it. Thanks for posting the info! I'll know better and be able to act the next time.

 

[OohFeeshy]

BettaMomma strikes again.... I'm sure glad they don't do bettas over here... imagine the airport fees/customs.... I feel a headline...

MAD FISH WOMAN CAUGHT SMUGGLING FISH

 

[rdd1952]

I was told by the assistant manager of the local WM here that there wasn't a form "letter to the president" but that any call to the 800 number was handled that way and that the store got a copy of the complaint and had to follow up on it. I haven't been back to this one yet as it just makes me mad.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'd sic the spca on them anyway, even if they can't do anything much, they're going to get a nashty suprise.

 

[BettaMomma]

rdd - pm me your address, I can send you a whole stack.
I have pamphlets here up the wazoo.

You can also visit:
http/www.walmart.com/storefeedback

Oh, and fyi - that person was lying to you about not having the letter.

 

[GuppyDude]

your awosme bettamomma, ill try to get over to beaver dam this wekend and check it out, hopefully they will be much better with their fish now. it's been slowly worsening over time and its about time something happend to put this all to an end. ill let ya know whats changed when im thee this weekedn betta momma, i have a fealing that their nvr going to mistreat fish ever again

 

[SMSBrunetteGirl]

What the HE11!Now that is soo not right!Wal-Mart is seriously getting me ticked,so ignorant1

 

[BettaMomma]

Well I do have to say this.
When I first started doing my fishy policing rounds, I started with our EastSide WalMart. Then I branched out... expanded my horizons... started hunting down poor unsuspecting fish store employees... lol

ANYWAY...
I started visiting PetWorld. Then I went to PetSmart, and now I go to BOTH the EastSide and WestSide WalMarts and the ES and WS PetSmarts. And I occasionally swing in to Aquatic Specialties, but I know that I rarely ever need to go there - they're phenomenal with their fish care.

I DO have to say... when I first started going to these stores (with the exception of Aquatic Specialties), the quality of life of their bettas sucked a$#. Since I have started complaining, I have noticed that it's cleaned up immensely. I don't know if it's a pure coincidence, or they're all scared of me or what, but I just did another store check today, and here's what I found:

PetWorld - 27 bettas total
Sick bettas: 0!!!
Bettas that looked healthy, happy and had full cups: 27!!

and Yesterday, at the EastSide WM they had probably 9 bettas, and they all looked just great! Frogs and crabs in that store looked good, too.

AND... I was in PetSmart the other day - and not only have they started taking better care of their bettas, they no longer put them on the second shelf down, they're ALL up on top, and the ones that have to be in the back are set up on top of cups filled with gravel. Each fish gets equal viewing that way!

The only store I haven't gone into for checks that much is the WestSide WalMart, and they SUCKED the other night - that's how we ended up with Jack (See below). There were a few others there that were somewhat sick, but I looked them over good and decided that with some good clean water, what they all had would probably heal up on its own. I figured Jack would need some good meds for the fins that looked like they'd gone thru a blender, and the cottony patches that looked like the cotton candy man had exploded in his cup. (He's very much on the mend now, and after only 2 days some of his cotton spots are fading! yay!)

SO THE MORAL OF THE STORY PEOPLE....
is if you start raising a ruckus in these stores, more exposure by lots of people will become apparent to these stores. People will start paying attention to what they're doing to their fish, and they will know it, forcing THEM to pay more attention to the fish.

yay for all of us.

 

[Styx]

I spoke to the manager at the Wal-Mart I'll be working at, and she told me this exsact thing, "It's not cost effective to care for or treat the fish. We get them for pennies on the dollar and it would cost too much to medicate them when they're sick."

 

[rdd1952]

I sent an email to them about the two store here I had been in. I never heard back from them but I really didn't expect to. I hate to go in Walmarts because it is so bad. On top of that, I despised going there before I ever owned a fish tank so the way they treat their fish was the last straw. I haven't been back to one of them in about 3 weeks as I am very rarely on that side of town.

 

[rdd1952]

Styx, that's exactly what I have said all along. They have fish that they know they are probably only going to break even on at best but they get people in to buy the tanks, chemicals, etc and make their money. And the people they are selling to unfortunately are mainly newbie who don't know a thing about fish and what to look for when they buy them.
I feel like I am very fortunate to have two very good Petsmarts and two very good individually owned LFSs near me.

 

[Styx]

Even the Petsmarts by me are really bad. There's a few local pets stores that are good though.

Fish-4-U is one of them.

You know what else they told me? Again, that it wasn't "cost effective" to even feed them.

 

[BettaMomma]

Styx Posted: Mar 16 2005, 01:55 AM
I spoke to the manager at the Wal-Mart I'll be working at, and she told me this exsact thing, "It's not cost effective to care for or treat the fish. We get them for pennies on the dollar and it would cost too much to medicate them when they're sick."

That's when I would say (like I did to the walmart employee the other day) they then should not be SELLING fish. I wouldn't be able to work in a place like that. ESPECIALLY if I knew they would not allow me to treat sick fish. I would end up with roomfulls of fish - some would be coming home with me every single day.

It's probably not very cost effective for them to provide health insurance for employees, either. But I bet they do.

I HATE WALMART with a passion.
I hate ANY store like that who only looks for ways to scam more money off of people at living breathing animals' expense. It's disgusting.

 

[Styx]

It would be nice if I didn't have to work there. It's depressing that I do.

Maybe on break I'll sneak off and change the bettas' water.

 

[BettaMomma]

Do you bring many fish home with you from there?