Protestors gathered outside an Edinburgh shop on Sunday as they called for ‘live animals to be removed from sale’. Members of Rescue Not Retail were taking part in a nationwide week of action, and petitioned at Pets at Home in Craigleith.
Rescue Not Retail demand animals are ‘complex individuals who have specific care needs’. They’ve claimed misinformation during sales sees people caring for animals they may not be able to handle.
The week of action came after an open letter to Pets at Home, asking for an end to animal sales. The letter was endorsed by Chris Packham, Dame Joanna Lumley, Gail Porter, and Peter Egan.
A spokesperson for the organisation added: “The animal ends up either neglected, passed on to a rescue, or abandoned.”
Pets at Home said they play an ‘important role’ in welcoming pets into loving homes, and do so ‘from a trustworthy and reliable source that has animal welfare at its heart’.
Abdullah, from West Lothian, said: “The public has been grossly misled about the intelligence and care needs of the animals whom we purchase as pets, and the insidious breeding facilities that they come from have been hidden from our view.
“Rabbits, hamsters, fishes and snakes do not belong in boxes, to be viewed as objects, existing only for our entertainment. Pets at Home can’t claim that it cares about animals until it joins competitors such as Jollyes in ending sales of live animals in its stores.
“I am optimistic that this archaic practice is on its way out as more and more people are opting to adopt animals and pledging to boycott stores that fuel the rescue centre crisis by continuing to sell live animals.”
Chris Rhodes, an Ecologist from Glasgow said: “Pets At Home must stop selling animals and promote adoption, to combat the rescue crisis. It is irresponsible of them to encourage impulse buying and objectification of animals.
“Pet mills are like factory farms for animals used in the pet industry, and we don’t know precisely where the animals at Pets at Home originate. Animals like fishes, snakes and hamsters are thinking, feeling individuals, with complex lives and needs.
“Animals are not objects, ornaments or toys to be bought and then discarded when the buyer gets bored.”
Naturalist Chris Packham said: “It’s time we stopped treating sentient, feeling animals as products on a shelf.
“Every small animal sold in a shop is an individual, not a toy or decoration. Like ourselves, each hamster, rabbit, guinea pig and so on has just one life to live and they deserve not to be commodified.
“Keeping animals on shop floors encourages people to buy them on a whim, which is fuelling a rescue crisis in the UK. If we truly love animals we must end the sale of them in stores.”
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A Pets at Home spokesperson commented: “Pets at Home plays an important role in ensuring people who wish to welcome pets into a loving home are able to do so from a trustworthy and reliable source, which has animal welfare at its heart.
“From rigorous welfare routines within our petcare centres, access to 24/7 veterinary care, colleague training and welfare checks at point of purchase, we have robust systems in place to ensure our pets are loved and cared for until they arrive at their forever homes.
“We’re acutely aware of the need to be there for pets at every stage of their life, no matter what changes may occur to a family’s circumstance. Together with our independent charitable arm – the Pets Foundation – we are the largest rehomer of small animals in the UK via our in-store adoption centres, and support hundreds of rehoming and rescue charities across the UK.”