Hannah writes
>Iwas just wondering, do you guys want to close petcos or just get
>people tht are better educated about animals, or do you want to get
>where pets arent being sold there at all anymore?
 
It depends who you ask.  I can only answer for myself:
 
In regards to ferrets, the goal for awhile has been to get Petco to stop
carrying ferrets.  While their switch from MF to Animals, Etc now opens
up a whole host of new issues, it has strengthened our position that it
is virtually impossible to find a breeder that can BOTH fill the enormous
need of providing baby ferrets to 573 Petco stores AND provide kits that
are in good health and old enough to be sufficiently weaned.  The high
demand contributes to the problem of babies being shipped too young,
although there are other factors.  The ferrets go first to distributors
in some cases, and there is a great deal of evidence that the
distributorships are where the problems of contamination, overcrowding,
and other problems occur.
 
It is my opinion that Petco and its ilk cannot do a good job of selling
live animals because of the logistics inherant in big business.  Like
most multi-multi-chain corporations, Petco has an automatic ordering
policy.  For example, store #123 in West Wherever is scheduled to receive
2 crates of white mice every two weeks.  If you are Wal-Mart and have too
many Saccharine Sweet Barbies come in, you can stack them in the back
room until there is room on the shelf.  But if you are a Petco store who
hasn't sold any white mice recently, and you suddenly get two crates of
them in, it becomes a problem and how it is handled is up to the manager.
Stores where managers care about their paycheck, not critters, cram them
into one tank and overcrowd and stress them, or write "Snake food" across
the top of the carton.  The automatic-ordering approach that works for
Barnes and Noble or Target is not feasible for animals in a pet store,
but Petco corporates seem either unable to make that connection or
unwilling to make a change.
 
Part of the objection to Petco selling ferrets is that Petco makes a big
fuss about their pledge not to sell "companion" animals like cats and
dogs.  Problem is, other animals are considered "companions" too.  Those
of us with ferrets know that ferrets are also incredibly attached to
their people and are just as "companionable" as any puss or bowser.  For
that matter, other animals such as rabbits, rats, and birds are also
highly sociable and are just as much of a companion as a dog or cat.
Bird, reptile, and small animal conditions at many Petcos are nothing
short of appalling.  Many bird groups are putting enormous pressure on
Petco to stop selling birds.  The combined effect of Petco marketing
birds as an easy pet to care for (they are not) as well as having staff
that's not trained to care for them, has had disastrous results.
 
In addition, ferret folk have a real problem with ferrets being filed
under the "small animal" category at Petco and housed over with the
rodents, usually in sawdust.  It gives shoppers and buyers the impression
that ferrets are on a par with rodents as far as maintenance.  This
results in ferrets being kept in aquariums, in wood shavings, without
enough out-time or human interaction.  Which in turn creates ferrets
with behavior and socialization problems that people want to get rid of.
Enter the shelters, which Petco "sort of" helps out.  They let them come
in and do adoption and education and other events, but it's a funny
situation because they're also the ones helping to fill up the shelters
and create the need for a shelter in the first place.  In some areas,
shelters care almost exclusively for Petco ferrets.
 
Some Petcos that are under the watchful eye of a ferret group, rescue
group, or even just one or two ferret owners have managed to do OK caring
for ferrets.  But take away the training and watchful eye of those
dedicated ferret lovers, and there's no guarantee that store will
continue to care adequately for the ferrets.  Like any corporation,
Petco's stores have high turnover, mediocre wages for part-timers, and
managers get shipped around a lot.  There's no guarantee that the staff
this year will still be the staff next year.  Even if they could attract
well-educated animal people, they would never pay them enough - or give
them enough hours - to stay.  Like any corporate retailer, the moment
Petco starts feeling a monetary pinch, they cut back employee hours, and
the animals in the stores get neglected.  They are poised as an employer
to attract mainly young people looking for part-time hours, who may or
may not give a swat about the animals.
 
I feel that Petco could become a leader in the pet-care market by
becoming a more ethical store and not selling animals.  They don't have
to close down, necessarily, but they need to effect some changes PDQ and
end some of this suffering.  They have shown for years - to the point of
being sued now by the city of San Francisco - that they are unable to
successfully merge corporate size with selling healthy animals
responsibly.  I avoid Petco like the plague because of this, which is
too bad, because as a large business they are able to keep their prices
on food and pet products quite reasonable.  This makes pet care more
affordable to people, which is why a lot of folks go there.  But when
they buy Petco's stuff, they're encouraging a company that trades a
healthy bottom line for the little lives that are entrusted to them.
 
That's my take on the Petco thing.
 
-Heather W. in Mass
[Posted in FML issue 3852]