B io ph ile Issu e 18 - Biophile Magazine

eventually becomes of them and how absolutelyshameful it is that we keep these gluttonous petshop owners and backyard breeders in businesswhen every year hundreds of thousandsof lovable, desperate, lonely, homeless animalsare killed in shelters throughout the countrysimply because they are no-longer wanted.There just are not enough loving homes for allthese animals.Pet shops do not support or promote responsiblepet ownership. Animal-selling pet shopsrely on and in-fact encourage the impulsivebuying of companion animals; they desperatelydepend on the sweet faces and charmingcharacters of these young vulnerable animalsto make that sale.The impulsive buying of animals from petshops is in my opinion the single biggest contributorto our current animal overpopulationproblem. People who buy an animal on impulseare not likely to get that animal sterilized as thecost of sterilization was not considered at the time ofpurchase.While pretending to be a potential customerone pet shop proprietor actually told me not toworry about sterilization because if the kittenlater has babies I can bring all those babiesback to him to sell?I am no economist, but consideringthis issue logically I have to assume thatPet Traders must be a huge economicdrain on a country that can leastafford it. I reason that annually thefinancial implications and costsof ‘dealing’ with these massivenumbers of no-longer wantedor unwanted animals mustbe astronomical.We have all seen them,noses pressed tightagainst the cage barspleading for us to takethem home.We have all heardthe frightened,confused yelpingof puppies, whichsuddenly find themselves caged and on display in the middle ofbusy, noisy shopping centers and flee markets.What heartless individual wouldn’t be tempted to buy a pet ona whim? And many good people actually believe that they are rescuingan animal from a pet shop when all they are doing is makingroom for many others to take its place, while the unfortunatemother of these animals is prostituted and bred to death.Say NO to Animals in Pet Shops aims to raise enough supportto have legislation drafted that would render the sale of animalsin pet shops and the large-scale, puppy-mill type breeding ofcompanion animals illegal.We are encouraged by the fact that the Netherlands, Belgiumand Croatia are just some of the countries where the selling ofanimals in pet shops has been completely banned.Because large portions of the animal-buying public are stillunaware of the tragic implications of purchasing from pet shops,and animal-selling pet shops are so numerous and widespread,we believe that protesting outside them would be an inefficientmeans of achieving our objective.The pressure, urgency and change we are aiming to realizecalls for extensive public attention and this can only be broughtabout by the clever use of mass media.People must become conscious to the fact that the pet trade isan incredibly cruel and insatiably greedy multibillion Rand industrythat profits from the sale of misery.Pet traders are basically utterly and completely lawless. Theydo not have a legally binding code of conduct, ethics or minimumstandards.‘The South African Pet Traders Association’ is a newly formed,self-appointed and self-regulated body or organization. SAPTA isnot an independent body. (Although I know better, I always presumeand assume that an organization with such an ‘official andfancy’ sounding name is an independent organization).SAPTA membership is voluntary; this unfortunately renderstheir out-dated and wholly inadequate code of ethics to also bevoluntary. In fact several of the most appalling, and disgustingpet stores I know proudly boast about their membership to this‘esteemed’ organization.Ironically I often see the ‘SAPTA Certificate of Membership’prominently displayed next to a notice stating that the pet shopoffers no guarantee on their livestock. A pet shop that is not preparedto offer a reasonable guarantee on their livestock is publiclydeclaring that they do not accept responsibility for the welfare,treatment or breeding of an animal in their store.SAPTA is unfortunately not in a position to regulate, control oruphold any code of ethics or minimum standards within the pettrade.Say NO to Animals in Pet Shops is a kick-butt movement. Wewill not be bullied into submission and we will not stop until everysingle animal is out of pet shops.Please don’t contribute to animal suffering and exploitationby buying your companion from a pet shop. Support the few petshops that love animals so much they refuse to profit from theirmisery.Feel free to email me your postal address and I will postyou some of our rather funky Say NO to Animals inPet Shops bumper stickers, which you can proudlydisplay on your car, your fridge, bare bums, baldheads... wherever.Say NO to Animals in Pet Shops – South AfricaEmail: paula@temptech.co.zaWebsite: saynotoanimalsinpetshops.comBiophile Issue 1823