"rescues" For Sale

[KathyM]

I'm not going to name names and will have to word this very carefully - don't panic it's not an attack on rescue!

 

It has come to my attention elsewhere that a certain large chain petshop are now adding "adoption centres" to their shops. They also have set up a "charity", the money donated goes to some larger rescues (who openly support the scheme) and to vets fees for animals in the shop's "adoption centre" care.

 

All sounds a bit too good to be true yes? Turns out these "adoption centres" are not entirely that. They're a section in each of the participating stores where surplus "stock" can be put alone in a tank to pull on the heart strings and be sold to a niche in the market who *maybe* wouldn't otherwise go to this shop for their pets. Ask for a donation, pretend it's all for charity mate, and watch the cash roll in while the new owner buys a cage, toys, food, etc. People can come to the "adoption centres" and pay a small donation and take the animal away - no checks, nothing.

 

A friend of mine visited one of their stores yesterday and "adopted" a 4 month old rat after reading the leaflet provided, which said all the animals in the "adoption centre" were rescues needing a "2nd chance". When she asked the history on her, they got cagey but eventually admitted she'd come from another store because they hadn't managed to sell her on the shop floor - this is not something they'd openly stated on her tank. She could've quite easily gone in with other does that were up for sale, but they put her in a tank alone in the adoption area (obviously hoping she would melt someone's heart and open their wallet).

 

The shop don't mention in their leaflet that their surplus stock goes into these "adoption" areas. I'm sure they do use the adoption areas to rehome animals genuinely returned, but is this rescue? What do you think of this? I can't help but feel that if the charities who have put their name to this venture knew of this that they may not support it as much? Is this any better than sending back the surplus stock to the farms that breed them? I'm torn.

Edited July 29, 2007 by KathyM

[Trallwm farm]

I think its good that you have pointed it out

[phoenix]

this was mentioned on another forum who wernt holding back on naming and shaming, i think its apalling that a pet shop is selling pets under the pretense that all the animals are rescues, this particular chain has a bad reputation with the care of the animals on the shop floor anyway, although some indiviual managers are better than others, i avoid this shop because the manager of ours refuses to listen to advice i gave with regards to a standard gray chinchilla who had wet fur around the mouth area and was being sold for £75 as suitable for breeding

[KathyM]

It really doesn't surprise me sadly.

 

The lady that "adopted" the rat yesterday is waiting for a response from their head office, and is then going to contact each and every rescue that is supporting this venture for their comments. I can only think they're not aware of things (at least I hope that's the case). But at the minute it's a bit like (for example) a rescue slapping a seal of approval on the cages at any cack petshop, saying "That's the way it should be".

 

I'm not sure how many people are aware of the types of places that shop and most other petshops nowadays get their rats from (can't comment on other species, rats are mainly what I know).

 

There are a few large "rat farms" that basically breed vast amounts of badly kept rats, often "specialising" in "mutations" such as dumbos and hairless which will get more money for the shops (despite not being "worth" any more), alongside breeding "feeders". They'll deliver them to the shops and will take back and replace any that are too large to sell (as was the case recently in our local petshop with a siamese dumbo that I told myself it was wrong to buy out - wish I had now ). Those that are returned will get put back into the breeding program, or used as snake food (more commonly). Males and females are kept together and not separated, so most females that hit the shops that aren't vastly underaged (as is common) will be pregnant.

 

So when I see people that I respected supporting this chain when the chain are using the "adoption centre" to offload leftover stock from rat farms, I can only believe they're not aware of what's happening, and would be appalled that they're in effect approving rat farming, which isn't any better than puppy farming, etc, if you want to compare it to anything.

Edited July 29, 2007 by KathyM

[Jacobean]

If they are indeed a charity the charity commission would be very interested in knowing this. Do they have a charity registration number. Have you made contact with them stating your views and saying how wrong this is and that it isn't rescue at all. I'm sure trading standards would be interested too as they have basically hit on a good idea for getting rid of unwanted stock by playing on peoples' emotions. You have a good case to go approach these professional bodies and get this stopped. Could also advise the press of what is going on.

[KathyM]

The people involved are taking action as I said, I don't think it's something I can necessarily take action on personally because I wasn't there. It is not a one off though according to others I have spoken with. My local branch doesn't have an adoption area, so it's not like I can gain a personal experience to put under my belt either. I just basically wanted people to be very aware of what's going on. I very nearly fell for this "rescue" scheme (was looking into visiting a branch further away).

 

The other thing that also really bothers me about what's right and wrong in this is the alternative for these rats. If they don't get sold, they go back. Much as I've always followed the "If you don't buy them, they won't restock them" motto, I frankly don't believe it for a second any more, certainly not with anyone using the rat farms as stockists. It's ruined that chance of stopping shops selling animals, having a backup plan of them coming and taking them back, swapping them for smaller, cuter ones.

 

Some of you know that Nelly and her sisters were ones about to go back at our local petshop. I'm not proud of having bought them out at sale price, but when the woman told me where they came from and her concerns about them being so big (and Pink being ill), I caved and brought all four home. Am I proud of that? No of course not. But now that Nelly's had her babies safe, and Pink is better (and that was touch and go) I can't honestly feel bad that I did it for them.

 

At the same time as them coming in, a siamese dumbo came in. He wasn't ill, and was a friendly chap, not too big and not tidgey either. I said to myself "Not that one, you're paying for them to get more" and I stood by it. Throughout Nelly's pregnancy and her raising her kittens (so about 7 weeks in total) he was sat in that petshop in a tank by himself. Others came and went, and he got bigger and bigger. Last week they told me he'd found a home when I asked, but not until after I'd heard them talking about having sent him back to the farm. He's prolly dead now, and the petshop have had new stock in all the way through, and since.

 

Edited to add: I am not under any circumstances defending buying from petshops, I know what I did was "wrong" in the bigger picture. I am not advocating the sale of animals in petshops under any circumstances, just trying to illustrate how easy it is for them to abuse people's good intentions and manipulate them into making them money.

Edited July 29, 2007 by KathyM

[Trallwm farm]

Im well aware of how places take advantage of peoples good intentions.

 

He who shouts loudest gets the most punters and donations so I can see the benefit for the rescues and I can also see how the petshops are onto a good thing by connecting with rescue.

 

Often the best rescues are those that dont constantly tell the best tale and it would seem the same goes for petshops

[one.eyed.dog]

I take it we are talking about ****@**** here?

[KathyM]

I didn't post the name of the place as I wasn't sure of the legalities.

[Ian]

It is probably not accurate to suggest that they have set up a Charity in order to facilitate this. There has been a Charitable Trust in operation since 2004. I suspect the Charity Commission wont sadly take much interest unless The Charity themselves have first been approached with any concerns and ultimately even if they did take an interest it would probably only be in respect of protecting the Charity, not animal welfare concerns.

 

The 2004-05 & 2005-06 accounts for the foundation can be found on The Charity Commission website.

 

Interestingly it is stated that over £322,743 was raised for one of the leading animal charities in the last 18 months - why this is so disparate to the two previous years filed accounts intrigues me.

 

Details of The Foundation and The Animal Adoption scheme, including which stores are participating are readily available on their own website - there is no mention that animals for adoption may be their own surplus stocks but nor do they actually make any claim to be homing animals from any of the centres they support. It is perhaps implied by some celver wording about their support for these Charities but all they actually claim is that "Within a number of our stores we have rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, rats and hamsters who are available for adoption which are looking for a second chance of happiness in a loving home".

 

Highly dubious marketing & misleading it may be but whether anything they may be doing is actually illegal, I'm more doubtful of. Hence I'm also doubtful that Trading Standards will do anything either. The press would therefore be the most likely interest, if any, I suspect.

[KathyM]

I didn't say it was illegal at any point. I said their leaflets are misleading and they're selling animals under the guise of them being rescue. All of their spiel is deliberately left open for misinterpretation at best. The rescues involved have their names to this venture on the website. That's my proble with it.

 

As for the quote you gave - how is that not fibbing? Some of these animals haven't even had a first chance, never mind been brought in by rescue for adoption as they try to insinuate. They're just leftover stock.

[Jacobean]

Without seeing their leaflets it's hard for us to comment. They do have a charitable trust set up and do raise funds for other charities which include dog rescues. These are bonafide and quite separate to their livestock sales. Different branches appear to run different schemes. My local branch doesn't "offer" this particular deal. They have collection points for items to be given to local dog rescue and also collection tins for various charities. One of them in the past has been for Blue Cross.

 

It sounds as though they have used clever wording from what you have said but haven't actually done anything wrong. How have they worded this on the leaflet?

[raiye]

"Within a number of our stores we have rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, rats and hamsters who are available for adoption which are looking for a second chance of happiness in a loving home".

 

The second chance bit is what had me questioning. It implies that the animals first homes were not very good - not that they have just been over looked in their cage.

[Jacobean]

To be honest though whichever way you look at this they are being offered a second chance at finding a home. Whether they have been sold to someone in the past and returned. Or whether they are from another store. Or the same store. They are attempting to sell them again to find them a home. To them if the animals are old stock they are trying yet again to sell them on. The animals are costing them money while they are not being sold. Unfortunately a lot of the public will visit the shop wanting to purchase the newly born animals and won't look at the older ones. I'm just glad that the stores are still trying to sell them and not just getting rid.

 

Unless they are actually stating that these animals have been rescued and they are finding new homes I can't honestly see where they are going wrong. Or that they are from rescue centres. As I say without reading the leaflets we really can't offer proper comments to this.

 

Our second chance generally means to us rescue but to others outside rescue it can mean something completely different. To others it probably means they are the stores animals that are older than the norm.

[KathyM]

Here's a comparison question for you. How would you feel if a puppy farm had the RSPCA logo advocating them and rescues were getting funded by the sale of badly bred puppies with health/social problems to people with no checks, and under the name of "adoption" or "rescue"? Is that a 2nd chance for a dog, when it didn't have to be bred for sale in the first place?

 

This shop are selling small animals saying they're adoptions/rescues when in some cases they're clearly not - my friend was only told of the truth of the situation when she pestered. The rat was clearly up for "adoption", not for sale, and the leaflet only speaks of handins and rescue situations, not of animals which have passed their "cute" shelf life and who have been put in unsuitable conditions to pull on the heart strings. Even if the shops were *only* using their adoption areas for genuine rescue animals, should any well respected rescue be linking with a shop that mass produces unhealthy and unsocialised animals, advocates terrible care, and makes a profit from this?

 

I find it hard to imagine anyone would back puppy farming up as "doing nothing wrong", so why is that suggested with smaller animals....

 

Luckily my friend is taking this much further. She's taken it up with the shop's complaints department and the Charity Commission, who have asked her to get in touch with one of their departments to launch an investigation. If anyone has had a similar experience and wishes to back up this complaint. let me know and I'll get the relevant details.