With all the bad publicity RWE is scrambling to clean up their act as
quickly as they can. I know several people that can attest to petstores
receiving dead, dying and sick RWE animals but won't speak out publicly
because they would get fired.

Businesses will go to extremes to save their posteriers and inspections
are often subpar and/or known about before they occur. I never got
that, why call ahead before an inspection, why not just show up and see
what really goes on?

Are inspectors watching multiple surgical procedures the entire time?
Do they handle every animal to check for alertness, sickness, adequate
body weight and temperature? Do they check every food and water
container, trash container, cage? Do they secretly watch employee
performance? Not to my knowledge.

The RWE ferrets that came to me were carriers of pasteurella and strep.
They came to the store deathly sick to the point that their little
noses were so crusted they couldn't breathe or eat and would have died
if not for their caretaker. Months after medicating they were still
contagious - I know because they passed this on to the others in our
home. Talk about a huge medical expense that continues more than a
year later, and I've got the vet records to prove it.

I'm not talking about one delivery of sick animals, but multiple
deliveries. And not just the ferrets are sick, the birds and rodents
are too.

If anyone doubts this, go into the sick room at the petstores that
bought from RWE and see for yourself.

Why doesn't USDA/APHIS set up an anonymous hotline for reports of sick
and dying animals coming in from vendors? Maybe then some employees
would be willing to place an anonymous call.

Why don't the petstores place the sick animals in a room with looking
glass like they do with the grooming room so customers can view them?
Is the sick room a place to heal or a place to die? Do the employees
medicate the animals as they should? Do they make sure they are fed,
watered, room temperatures are adequate, and enclosures kept clean to
avoid cross contamination?

The petstore corporations top management are so far removed from the
actual petstore they have no idea of what goes on in their stores nor
do they care - they are administrators that are concerned with
finances, not pet caretakers. I've always wondered how the managers
allow atrocities to continue.

Petstore Corporations have the little people over a barrel. Rock the
boat and you get fired or demoted or hours cut, so if you want to keep
your job keep your mouth shut.

Unless one works at a petstore or knows someone closely that does, one
has no idea of the atrocities that occur on all levels.

tle
www.ferretfamilyservices.org

[Posted in FML 5864]