Dodgy petshop

Pat McGhee

Hi

I'm wondering if someone can help & give me contact details of an agency who investigate petshops (if such an agency exists!!) My bf & I were in one yesterday in Cork & if truth be told, I was quite alarmed at what I saw. None of the reptile enclosures had UV light or heat, & none of their enclosures were locked (a child could have easily opened the sliding door to a fully grown boa constrictor (sp!) or tarantula enclosure.) We saw a fully grown hare being kept in a cramped reptile enclosure, with no proper access to clean drinking water & the food bowl was filled with wood shavings turned to mulch from soaking in water. The stench of urine around the bird & rabbit enclosures was disgusting, & some of the birds were listless. Some seemed so stressed their feathers were ruffled & 'sweaty' looking, I think they might have been pulling at their feathers too. We also saw pigeons & rabbits being kept in steel cages with very little bedding, & the exposed base of the pigeon cages were covered in feces.

Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me so I couldn't get pictures, & the only person working in the shop looked like he was just out of puberty so complaining to him would most likely have been futile. Besides, given the state of the animals on show, I was afraid any kind of complaint could have resulted in a bad end for some of the poor creatures being kept in this place.

<snip>

I really feel bad for the animals being kept in this place, it's no way for them to be treated. Can anyone else suggest alternative groups who might be able to assist?

Many thanks!

Sigma Force

In general people contac the local SPCA so that's pretty much all you can do, or perhaps contact the SPCA in the next county. Not sure any of them can do much they have no real power to do anything.

Asked to talk to the manager of the shop and explain your concerns some will tell you to f off out of their shop and mind your beeswax but others will take it on board sometimes they just haven't a bogs notion or the staff haven't a bogs notion.

Also don't be afraid to explain the proper care of these animals to staff some will appreciate it esp. the younger ones who sometimes aren't given any training whatsoever.

It's hard esp. when not many people care about animals kept in these conditions in shops. Very frustrating.

Trojan911

PM sent.

EGAR

I think your best bet is: www.tradingstandards.ie

jen_23

I think i know the place your on about. I was in there a few weeks ago and shocked to say the least!
What people owning pet shops get away with!

You should try hanleys in cork by the kinsale roundabout. Their fab for all things aquarium and stock a variety of fish and some turts. And all the neccessary equipment!

Pat McGhee

Many thanks to all who have replied & pm'd, the ball is well & truly rolling to getting this place investigated. Unfortunately due to crappy legislation in this country, (cruelty to animals act unchanged since 1911!!) there's not a massive amount that can be done to the shop & owner, but if at the very least a reprimand makes him change his behaviour, it'll be a relief to the poor creatures currently confined.

Mary, I urge you to contact ISPCA, helpline@ispca.ie & lodge a complaint. Contact any animal welfare groups in your area & voice your concerns. The more people who kick up a fuss, the closer we can get to making this country a better place for our animal friends.

jen_23

Thanks Pat, I just sent off my own email now.
Hope it does some help!

tatehamster

Hey,

I cant believe that place is still open! I was down in Cork with three friends on a bank holiday weekend over a year ago and we went into the pet shop that I am sure you are talking about. It was an absolute disgrace, all the rabbits were in tiny cages that had wire mesh for the base, they had no hay or water and there were three dead hamsters in one cage that had obviously been there for a while.
We called the CSPCA on the Tuesday when we got back up and they were unhelpful to say the least. I understand that their hands are tied in a lot of situations but when my friend called she was told 'yeah I know' then they hung up!..... Surely even if they called it it might be a deterrent?

BeansMeansHynes

Oh my god. :eek: That sounds terrible.

I really hope its not the place I am thinking of. OP I gonna PM you to find out which one it is so I will never set foot in the place again.

eden_my_ass

Just playing devils advocate here, I'm pretty sure of where everyones talking about and I was actually in there only a week ago so can't disagree with anything thats been said, however the place seems to have been remodelled somewhat in recent months and perhaps that process is still ongoing. Doesn't excuse the mistreatment of any animal but might explain unsuitable conditions for now (although I know those metal cages are there a long time, badly in need of an upgrade!)

All I'm saying is people should always give the benefit of the doubt and talk to management first before bringing in the authorities, it never hurts!

Sigma Force

Rabbits and hares and guineapigs must never ever be left without access to hay/other foods etc. and fresh water their digestive systems will basically shut down and they will die.

Complain direct to the management and if no real changes are made then take it further, do some reading up on what the animals they have need and then go in armed with the information and explain to them what they need some shops just haven't a bogs notion what they are doing.

Said this before if you go to a grocery shop and buy a packet of biscuits that packet of biscuits is handles carefully so they don't break, stacked neatly, kepts in the right temperature and checked for best before date.
In this country packets of biscuits are treated with more care and consideration than a living being and it disgusts me every time.

luckat

Liveline might give people a sympathetic hearing. Joe Duffy seems quite animal-minded - he sounded truly upset when talking about a vicious prank that killed a swan a couple of months ago.

boomerang

Your description matches exactly my experience in a petshop in another part of the country. My friend and I were so, so upset that we contacted the ISPCA cruelty helpline. Now, we've both been involved in animal welfare a good long time, and work for a large rescue organisation. We thought we would be taken seriously. BUT the person at the ISPCA contacted the local SPCA, who told them that the pet shop was run by a veterinary nurse who was a great supporter of theirs and that the conditions were "spotless."

Thus ended the ISPCA's investigation.

Meanwhile the animals were overcrowded and kept in FILTHY conditions, some had no access to water or the water was full of algae.

typerchick

Im pretty sure I know the pet shop you are talking about and the guy you said that looked like he was barely past the stage of puberty sounds very like the owner himself!
Some of the conditions there are terrible i will agree but as far as i know those metal cages have built in feeders so Im pretty sure there is food in those which can be accessed at all times.. I could be terribly wrong but the last time I was in there this was the case. Some pet shops take no care what so ever with their small animals and it really annoys me !!

Dogs & Cats

If its the one that does the dog grooming I have heard that they are not to caring to the dogs they groom. There are 2 petshops in Cork City that are chronic.

I know that one has been investigated by the powers that be, over the years and they still havn't closed them down, the funny thing is the one with the pet parrot, the owner seems to like animals but I don't think he has a clue.

RebelRockChick

If this is the same pet shop that I am thinking of, the conditions in there are terrible! Some people I know were doing work experience in there, and one day one of the snakes was loose in the shop :eek: and have told me about some of the conditions on different occasions.

Not much can be done unfortunetly. As already mentioned there is the Animal Care Society, which do amazing work looking after animals, educating people on how to take care of animals and about current laws (or lack of). They never put an animal down, and in fact travel to the U.K. fairly regularly bringing animals over to be rehomed.

pullandbang

boomerang wrote: »

My friend and I were so, so upset that we contacted the ISPCA cruelty helpline. Now, we've both been involved in animal welfare a good long time, and work for a large rescue organisation. We thought we would be taken seriously. BUT the person at the ISPCA contacted the local SPCA, who told them that the pet shop was run by a veterinary nurse who was a great supporter of theirs and that the conditions were "spotless."

Thus ended the ISPCA's investigation.

The ISPCA don't seem to come out very well judging by some of the comments in this thread. Based on this and on my own experience with them, they don't seem too concerned about animal welfare. Their agenda is more about stopping hunting, shooting, fishing, coursing and if they get their way there, they'll probably move onto showjumping, horse racing, etc.

Surely there are health inspectors in some deptartment or other who could visit and inspect premises like these. Maybe in the Dept. of Agriculture?

Sigma Force

One thing everyone of us can do is to never ever buy anything in these kind of shops, and support the shops that keep their premises clean and their animals enclosures clean and happy and healthy and also provide the correct care information and good customer service. Also buying online or in hardware shops are other alternatives you'd be suprised how many hardware shops sell pet stuff now and sometimes it's cheaper. We buy our hay in the hardware shop and if desperate Tesco do it now as well.
We've put a halt on buying stuff we don't really need and stick to the basics atm but if buying summit special for the critters we go to a handful of better run pet shops, online or the harware shop.

If you spend any money in badly run pet shops you are supporting them so advise friends and family to go elsewhere and recommend somewhere better so they know where to go.

If a pet shop has a lot of bird droppings and it looks like it's been there for day and days piling up and dry do call the Dept. of health as it can contain all sorts of nasties for the birds but also for the staff and customers.
This might be a way to get them to clean up their act not healthy for small children to be breathing in old bird poop and lots of small children visit these places daily. Small children are also more at the level of the cage where the poop is so would be directly inhaling it.
Worth a shot anyway. In the mean time support the good ones and avoid the bad ones.

blaithnaid

keep calling ispca and get every one you know to call dont give up

Cherry Blossom

This is 3 years old!!

Please don't drag up stuff like this

Locking