Christmas Present NOT to buy...
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| Mon, 11-29-2004 - 6:23pm |
I was in a pet store on Saturday just to have a quick look at the budgies, even though I know I can't get anymore at the moment.
They had about 60-80 little budgies jammed into 5 small display cages all ready for the Christmas season sales.
I felt so sick and sad to see all these little birds waiting to be bought as presents for people who probably don't want them, or for kids who will tire of them and stop taking care of them after awhile. I know some little creatures DO go to good homes, but with so many of them all at once, the odds of many of the being neglected and suffering is quite high and it makes me sooo sad. I know I can't buy up 80 birds because I can't care for them, and it wouldn't stop people from breeding more.
There's a lot of awareness about cats and dogs not being given as unwanted pets, but birds don't get a lot of attention. Many people don't realize that a budgie or cockatiel, if properly cared for, has a life expectancy AT LEAST as long as that of a cat or dog.
I fully support having pets if the recipient wants the animal; it just makes me sooo sad to see these poor innocent creatures left unwanted, neglected and left to suffer to death. There, I'll hop off my soapbox now...I just felt like I had to say something, somewhere, and we're talking about Christmas presents...

As a bird lover and bird keeper, I totally agree with you. In general, unless you KNOW for sure someone is ready, willing, and able to keep a pet, PLEASE do not buy one for someone as a gift. Buy a stuffed, plush animals as gifts...they are so much more durable!!!!!!
Littlesbigs
"Buy a stuffed, plush animals as gifts...they are so much more durable!!!!!!"
And QUIET littlesbigs - you forgot to mention how QUIET the plush animals are :)
Rebecca - it makes me so sad every year to see the number of birds that stores "stock up" on.
All my best,
Danni
I concur! And I'll add that I don't recommend buying pets from pet stores under any circumstances, especially if you know they don't treat the animals well. Even if you are buying the little thing in order to "save" it, you are still contributing to the store's bottom line and therefore encouraging their negative habits. You may save the one animal, but indirectly cause others to suffer by giving the store money with which to buy additional animals that they will then mistreat.
Other places to get pets are shelters (even budgies and other birds and unusual pets can be found at these) and reputable breeders who treat their animals well and don't overbreed.
In Thailand, as an aside, the streets near shrines are lined with vendors who will sell you sparrows in little teeny wicker cages. The idea is that you buy them, set them free, and thereby earn good karma for caring for earth's creatures. I always laugh about that (in a sad sort of way), because by buying the creatures to "set free," good karma seekers are supporting the very trade that has imprisoned the creatures to begin with. I can't imagine it really does much for the karma in the long run.
Thanks for bringing up this important topic at the holidays!
< was shocked how far gone he was and how clueless the store staff was.>
Just my 2-cents, but I have yet to go to a pet-store where the staff actually *knew* how to raise and care for ANY of the animals they carried; One pet store actually tried selling a woman a $20 brackish-water puffer-fish to put in with her freshwater gold-fish in a BOWL. But, after I spoke up, she just went home with another gold-fish, and the pet-store clerk was a bit upset. I even went and grabbed one of the books they were selling and SHOWED him that puffers required some salt in the water, a larger, filtered tank, and were NOT compatible with goldfish. Ugh.
Wal-Mart (while not exactly a pet-store) is the WORST among them, and I'm waiting for the day when they are barred from selling ANY live animals - their fish are inevitably in HORRIBLE conditions. Thank goodness they no longer sell birds or rodents (at least not here; I thought they were ordered not to years ago).
ITA that the situation goes beyond just cats and dogs; and that buying a pet for someone as a surprise gift is a *bad* idea.
***
You're right, Danni! They are much more quiet! And NEVER a vet bill! How do they do it????
I have quite a large collection of stuffed animals...I just love them!
Another thought is that even when people give you a new pet because "you already have so many" cats or dogs or birds or whatever it is a bad idea, too. It is hard to reject an animal or a well meaning friend, but you have to protect the animals you have already. Someone outside the house may not know your situation with your pets (or your finances) and one more unexpected animal could cause problems.
Littlesbigs
As an 'antidote' to the suffering all around us, Christmas gifts in my family are mostly donations to the charity of our choice, in the receiver's name. So for my sister, who has two adopted greyhounds, I donate to grey2k.com in her name. My mother donates to heifer.org and the american diabetes association for me, etc.
Also, whenever I read or hear a story about animal abuse, I get right online to the mspca, aspca, wwf, or most recently the golden retriever rescue association here in Massachusetts, and make a donation. It helps me to feel I'm part of the solution, not the problem, even in a small way.
I also stay out of pet stores.
Lee Ann
Lee Ann
www.werenotafraid.com
I agree with all of the previous posts. I am a "rabbit" person and feel sick when they start advertising bunnies as gifts for easter. Small animals are NOT playthings for children, should not be viewed as disposable, and are not appropriate gifts.
Also, domestic bunnies are not the same as wild rabbits, and cannot just be released into the woods when the child/family gets tired of them. They cannot fend for themselves, so "freedom" = a lonely, scary death sentence.
The local SPCA shelters here are constantly overrun with rabbits. It's so sad. And so many people bring in strays too - which means that people are buying rabbits and then releasing them around here all the time. The ignorance of people makes me so angry sometimes!
I stopped supporting petstores a long time ago. I won't even buy cat food or toys from them for my kitty. I go to Petcetera, a national Canadian chain that runs adoption centres in their stores, in conjunction with local shelters, rather than SELLING cats, dogs, and exotics. They sell fish and rodents, but their staff is specialized and trained for the areas they work in.
I read an article recently about a local high-end pet store that was busted for getting their animals from mills. It's scary to think how many people simply buy their pets from these awful places. A friend of mine even worked in a pet store for a while, but she quit because she couldn't tolerate the ignorance of the owners and their complete lack of respect for the very animals they were selling. They were purely in it for the money.
PS: My cat (the pic in my avatar) was technically a Christmas gift from my boyfriend last year, but I'd been wanting a cat anyway. She came from a Petcetera/SPCA adoption centre, and was 6 and a half years old (older pets need homes too!) The little scamp is spoiled rotten - by both of us!
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I've been following this series and just wanted to say that I agree 100% with NOT buying animals from pet stores!
Kassandra
"It is said that life has its peaks and valleys. The challenge is to accept them equally and experience them