samoyedman Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 (edited) http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/adelaide-store-refuses-to-sell-impulse-buy-pets/story-e6freuy9-1226534742132 TOO many puppies end up on death row, so we will not sell them at Christmas, pet store says.One Adelaide pet store has had a huge reaction to its decision not to sell puppies at Christmas. The Pet Spot in Salisbury has notified customers it stopped selling puppies to protect against impulse buys. It's Facebook post announcing the move has attracted more than 800 comments and almost 20,000 likes. In September, news.com.au revealed the 'kill rate' for puppies and kittens that end up in animal shelters is too high because of an oversupply. About one in three puppies that end up at the RSPCA are put down, as are more than half the kittens. Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of irresponsible owners and puppy farmers, who breed too many animals for the market. The Pet Spot owner Mandy Tregeagle said it is flooded with requests for pets in the lead up to Christmas but they're all impulse buys from people not prepared for long-term pet ownership - people who will end up dumping their pets after the Christmas season. She said on the one hand they get offered up to 8000 kittens a year and 1000 puppies a year from 'accidental' births, and on the other hand they get 20 phone calls a day from people at this time of year wanting to buy puppies. Most breeders and shops would just be "pumping out as many as they could", she said. But she has "had enough" and is now referring her Facebook followers to rescue shelters. "(Selling puppies at Christmas) we believe encourages impulse buying and contributes to many animals being dumped afterwards so to all followers who genuinely want the wonderful addition of a pet for Xmas please contact the numerous rescue groups who I am sure will be pleased to help you find your pet," she wrote. "I know this (Facebook) post may come across as a little rude, perhaps, but we are trying to promote and achieve responsible pet ownership." RSPCA (SA) media and campaigns manager Jennifer Salter said it had been inundated with unwanted cats, dogs and rabbits, and urged people wanting to buy a pet to adopt one through the RSPCA. "However, before making this decision it's vital that people realise animals, such as cats, can live up to 20 years and require a solid commitment. That's why pets should never be given as presents," she said. SA Labor MP Leon Bignell successfully moved to establish an investigation into the companion animal industry in November, a move supported by the Liberal opposition and the Greens. The committee will look at puppy factories, registration and compulsory desexing. "Politicians of all persuasions have been listening to the community and there's outrage about the cruelty to animals," Mr Bignell said. "It's an area where governments are sometimes too scared to tread because of the enormous passion about it." The committee is keen to reduce both cruelty to animals and the numbers euthanased, he added. Liberal MP and vet Duncan McFetridge said he had witnessed too many animal cruelty issues and change was needed. "In my over 20 years in vet practice I saw many examples of the wrong pet for the family and what was cruelty through ignorance and occasionally dogs and cats bred for profit with no care for long-term problems. I was also asked to euthanase dogs and cats that the family were tired of caring for," he said. Edited December 12, 2012 by samoyedman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.mister Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Is that for good, or just over the Christmas period? If it's permanent, good on them. Any pet shop that makes a point of not selling animals has my patronage, and I hope more continue to follow suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Is that for good, or just over the Christmas period? If it's permanent, good on them. Any pet shop that makes a point of not selling animals has my patronage, and I hope more continue to follow suit. Everything I've heard says it's just over Christmas. All this publicity and it's just one pet shop! I've yet to hear of anyone else joining in, though I wish the trend would carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Its a good move what they are doing. Now if only they would refuse to sell animals altogether. Have to wonder if it is a self promotion for their business though ? If they really objected to the many dumped they would stop it altogether. Guess it will be back to the usual after xmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisart Dobes Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Now, I think no animal should be sold through a pet shop ever. But what an idiot - just ruined their own business by admitting that they feed impulse buys . You don't think that the rspca etc will jump on this and use it to ban animal sales through pet shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 The self-congratulations is nauseating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 The self-congratulations is nauseating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 The Pet Spot owner Mandy Tregeagle said it is flooded with requests for pets in the lead up to Christmas but they're all impulse buys from people not prepared for long-term pet ownership - people who will end up dumping their pets after the Christmas season. How can they foresee that. Not that I agree with pet shop pups but many of them go on to life long, loving homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeelerLove Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 (edited) I saw this post on facebook and couldn't believe the amount of people commending them for doing this. They admit that pet shop puppies are usually bought as impulse buys and dumped not long after but they have all intentions and are fine with bringing puppies back to sell after the christmas period. Kind of hypocritical to me? I know that the impulse buying would go up at Christmas time but anyone thinking it doesn't happen at all times throughout the year need to have their brain adjusted. I wrote a comment on the post saying they should be ashamed for selling puppies at any time of year and I copped backlash from other people! ETA I know that not ALL pet shop puppies will be dumped.. the girl in my avatar is from a pet shop and so is my mums dog (both bought 6+ years ago when I didn't know any better) and are very loved and will be with us until their last breath but we all know a large majority will be dumped at the RSPCA and other rescues once the fun and cuteness has worn off Edited December 12, 2012 by BlueyLove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I saw this post on facebook and couldn't believe the amount of people commending them for doing this. They admit that pet shop puppies are usually bought as impulse buys and dumped not long after but they have all intentions and are fine with bringing puppies back to sell after the christmas period. Kind of hypocritical to me? I know that the impulse buying would go up at Christmas time but anyone thinking it doesn't happen at all times throughout the year need to have their brain adjusted. I wrote a comment on the post saying they should be ashamed for selling puppies at any time of year and I copped backlash from other people! People hate that point being pointed out (wow, awesome choice of descriptive words there :laugh: ) A few weeks back a petstore near me had a breakin, and two puppies were stolen (and it's not the first time). I commented on FB that perhaps it might be an idea to look at not selling puppies, so that it didn't happen because it obviously wasn't in the best welfare of the animals, and my comments were constantly deleted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 So all that work that PIAA do to tell the world that dumped animals are not coming from pet shops has just been counteracted because this petshop has agreed out loud that impulse buys happen via pet shops and that animals purchased through pet shops end up dumped. I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 So all that work that PIAA do to tell the world that dumped animals are not coming from pet shops has just been counteracted because this petshop has agreed out loud that impulse buys happen via pet shops and that animals purchased through pet shops end up dumped. I love it. Oh, but Steve, only the ones purchased at Christmas! Presumably, every other pet they sell throughout the year never gets dumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samoyedman Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Damned if they do, damned if they dont. In fairness, it is a start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Paws&More Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I never thought of advertising that we don't sell pets over the Christmas period. Think how much good publicity we could get! Of course, I'd have to leave out the part that we've never sold pets and never will sell pets, but that is really just a small detail. For some people, the festive season is a great time to have a new pet as they have more time to spend with it, but I've never got my head around pets as gifts. We prefer to see pets getting gifts! Now... off to formulate some advertising... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan B Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Damned if they do, damned if they dont. In fairness, it is a start. I think, when you're selling pups 11 months out of the year, it's not so much a "start" as it is a "gimmick to entice more customers." If this fails, we'll more than likely be seeing a "2 for 1 Special" next Christmas. Because this isn't about animal welfare - it's about maximising profits. In this case, jumping on a bandwagon and generating publicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 They do seem to at least desex all their puppies and kittens before selling them and they have a desexing clinic in store. It's not as bad as most out there at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 And its nothing to do with closing for a while over xmas and having to look after the unsold pups somewhere, so lets just not bother this week , and make a heap of publicity in the meantime and stock up after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnauzer Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I wonder where they source their puppies from? From some friendly "farm" or someone who has had an "oops" litter. Now what would be impressive is if they stopped selling animals altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantis Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Now, I think no animal should be sold through a pet shop ever. But what an idiot - just ruined their own business by admitting that they feed impulse buys . You don't think that the rspca etc will jump on this and use it to ban animal sales through pet shops. Unfortunately no, because there is no money to be gained from it & that is their number one priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casowner Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 (edited) Kittens are still being sold in the store, a large quantity of puppies are sold in this store and I bet they will be back in within weeks. Publicity like this when businesses are struggling are a goldmine, many people do not let ethics and truth get in the way of a good story. If you think for one second that 8000 kittens and 1000 puppies are offered to 1 small shop in Adelaide then I suggest you actually work out those numbers logically. We get offered maybe 20 litters of pups or kittens at the most per year (we do not sell puppies or kittens) Edited December 14, 2012 by behluka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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