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]