I thought petsmart was going to stop selling rabbits?

[xnovalentine]

Or was it Petco? One of them. Anyway…i was in Petsmart the other day and there were 4 new bunnies I havn’t seen. I was astounded because I thought I read somewhere that they agreed to stop selling rabbits at their stores. But heres what else bothers me: there were 2 rabbits in the larger "tank" thing, and below with the  rats and guinea pigs were 2 more rabbits in the small boxes the smaller animals are kept in!!!! I thought to myself that perhaps these two didnt get along with each other/the other rabbits BUT THE SMALL CAGE? I was floored. I wanted to complain but i couldn’t find anyone to complain to, and these little kids were busy getting in my way squeling because they were getting a rat or something and i didint want to cause a scene (i was angry…as you may imagine, i have quite the temper! LoL) I was ready to buy them and take them home I felt so bad ( i didint) but again, werent they suppose to stop selling the bunnies? I asked for the manager when I went to buy what i came in for, but he was "busy" but perhaps he heard me angry complain to my friend/the cashier about the treatment of the poor animals and rambling on about fractured spines and sore hocks as well as proper diet and exercise (they were eating carrots and apples — which is fine i suppose but my point was high sugar content) LOL i was finding anything to complain about. My friend made me leave before i caused a scene with the manager because I was going to "hunt" whoever he was down.

 

What are your thoughts? GAH angryyyyyyy lol

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

WHAAA???? They can’t !!
It was petsmart!!! Which location? Lets report them!!

[xnovalentine]

It was Petsmart in Peoria, IL. Where do you report them!? lol…can we?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Yes!! Let’s do the ‘contact us’ on petsmart.com and let them know that location is selling rabbits,against their company policy!!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Is there more then one? I’m reporting right now!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

OK, I reported them….I think I am going to tell rabbit.org as well!

[xnovalentine]

There is only one here in Peoria….I’m going to write a short but mean letter myself.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Excellent!! I let the house rabbit people know too! Since they were involved in stopping the sale with petsmart, hopefully they can really take action against this store!

[JK]

Good job girls for taking action!  Also, you should maybe write to the manager at the store in question and let them know they’ve been reported! The only way things can get better if people like us do something about it!!!

[Lion_Lop_Lover]

Guys, you should either go to or call the store and speak to the Manager. Writing to ‘Contact Us’ on the website will get you nothing more than one of their generic “thanks for your comments” replies…

From my work with betta fish rescue, you have to go and physically make a stink to get anywhere!

[xnovalentine]

You better report it too knowltons4 ! The more reports they get, the more likely they are to know that its a serious matter. I have to leave work now, and I may not be on for a couple of days so keep me updated on the boards and email me if you have to! I’ll try to check in on the matter this weekend and feel free to refer them to me via email since i am local to the store! Thanks everyone!

 

skannenberg@bradley.edu

[JK]

Yes ma’am!! Will do.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I would DEFINITELY take action if this happened near me. Luckily there are no Petsmarts around here but Pets Unlimited is just as bad if not worse. I’m about as anti-pet store as anyone can get.

My only concern is what will happen to the bunnies if the store gets reprimanded? I hate to imagine.

[Lisa_43]

LOL! you go girl.

[xnovalentine]

i would seriously consider purchasing one of them if that would happen. i actually almost did purchase the 2 rabbits in the small boxes.

[Sarita]

Let us know what happens – probably best for the person who actually saw it to report it.

Have you seen the PETA video of Petsmart animals that was on the Today Show? It’s too disturbing to post and I will definitely never ever shop at another Petsmart again even if they decided (or maybe not since xnovalentine saw 4 new rabbits) at Petsmart.

[xnovalentine]

i did report it myself — i plan to find an article through petsmart about the decison and print it off and take it to the manager.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Well, I did use the contact us to talk to them about their sale of “peach wood sticks’ and about what happens to unsold animals and I heard back right away, a real person!

Good girl xnovalentine!! If you want to pm me the phone number of the manager, I’ll phone on the weekend, from my parent’s house-they can cover the long distance bill

[Gizmo_Fluffybutt]

My local Petsmarts (two of them) both have rabbits. Where can I find something that shows the company agreed not to have them so when I complain I can have that with me?

[Gizmo_Fluffybutt]

I think I found the problem…

A post was put on PETA’s website on Dec. 19th, 2007 that quotes the Petsmart rep as saying “we will not continue to sell dwarf bunnies beyond those already in or planned for our stores”

I think the “already in or planned for” is the key here. These must be bunnies that were already destined for the pet store. I think the stores have agreements with breeders for specific length of time or number of animals, so I guess they’ll continue until they get everything they had already agreed to and planned for.

[JK]

Dwarf bunnies only?  Are you saying they don’t sell any other types?  I never go into that store because I don’t want to see the kittens and puppies so I don’t know about the buns…

[JK]

I’d actually like to know that for sure though about the ones already destined for the store. They could be lying…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

http://www.rabbit.org/

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196265&p=factset02

http://www.rabbit.org/hrs-info/petsmart2007.html

http://www.petsinneedsociety.ca/taking_action_to_stop_petsmart.htm

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rabbits/

What it looks like to me is that they were doing a test pilot, selling (adopting) dwarf rabbits that were altered. If there are baby rabbits, they certainly are NOT altered and is against company policy. Also, as the press reslease at rabbit.org shows, they stopped that pilot project are not going to be doing this anymore.

Report Report Report!!! Come on ladies!! (and gentlemen!)

[Sarita]

They do alter those rabbits at very young ages and not in a very nice way according the video that PETA just released. I know they are getting flooded with emails and calls about that video.

[bunnytowne]

Hi  I may seem dumb  here cuz maybe I am on this subject.

why is selling rabbits such a big deal? I may have missed something so please excuse my ignorance on this subject . our petsmart does not sell bunnies here. when I was lookin for a bun I was dissapointed and had to call around to find them. I was not aware of rabbit rescues or that 1 humane society has buns at that time. or I would have gone there or to petfinder.org

I have been to 1 petstore who has buns and have a big pen for it. very nice set up there anyway.  has good conditions for their bun and handled her she was very sweet had lots of room too very big area for her. and pet supermarket sells them as well. that is where i got my 2. b4 I knew of bun rescues . and their rabbits have room too. however I was very sad when 1 of their little 2 mos old buns had a torn toenail and no treatment for it. she found a home real quick tho she was a so called dwarf harlequin color. so I think she got treatment for her poor toenail. I would have taken her if I had the $ at the time.here is this truck that brings buns to them.

another pet store I went to for feed i didn’t like had 2 nice big buns in fairly large aquarian. store was real crowded and I didn’t care for it much and for what i saw.

now I heard about but didn’t see a video about boutique bunnies and I had gotten 1 from a pet store. he is wonderful. I am not sure if they get the buns from the same company that was neutering without anesthesia oh how horrid. that co was in texas from what I understand. this co is in fla that I got my bun from. and they pet store won’t be selling boutique bunnies again they told me. maybe the know of the problem so they stopped purchasing bun from people that mistreat them like that.  which is good they stopped it they had only had 4 boutique buns  then stopped with that. they did sell the already neutered /spayed ones yes they sold. fast but no more of them. which is good if there is that problem of no anesthesia oh I can’t imagine how painful and frightening that would be. but my bun is very calm so I dont’ know if he had anesthesia or not. my other I took in myself to get his neuter at a good vet. she is good her.

[osprey]

Hi Bunnytowne,

Some of us here on BinkyBunny are active in the rabbit rescue community.  We take in the neglected, injured or just plain forgotten rabbits that people dump at shelters or out in the wild, and try to bring them back to health and find them an adoptive home before the shelters kill them.  Many of those tiny cuties that get sold at pet stores end up with us, because the people who purchase them do not know how to care for a rabbit.  In my view, the biggest problem with pet stores is that they promote impulse buys ("Oh mom, look at the cute bunny!&quot and that the people who work in these places do not screen the buyers.  They are there to make money on the sale of the bunny and on the sale of the stuff to keep the bunny, the welfare of the animal is not a concern.  Once the rabbit leaves the store, they no longer care what happens to it.  Another huge problems with pet stores is that they sell rabbits who are not spayed/neutered, so the rabbits are almost guaranteed to be impossible to deal with by the time they are 6 months old.  This is a big reason why most of the rabbits we take in are either babies (oops litters to unspayed females or females let loose) or are in the 6 month to 1 year old range.

The more enlightened pet stores work with rescues to conduct adoptions at their stores.  This way, homeless animals find homes, and the store still gets to sell the gear for the rabbit.

[JK]

Mainly the outrage is based on the fact that so many of these stores are not treating their bunnies well and they are sick.  The main reason though is that they are being bred for sale to pet shops when there are millions of unwanted bunnies (and of course cats and dogs) that need homes.  Very few are adopted and most have to be euthanized. There are countless horror stories about the inhumane conditions some of these animals live in in pet shops. There was a recent thread about some shops in England that have been reported to the authorities for inhumane treatment.  There may be a few good stores but in general pet stores should only be selling supplies and perhaps fish!

[bunnytowne]

thank you I get it now. makes sense. the petstore I know the 1 work with animal rescues  and ask questions. They also mention spay and neuter and why. I talk with the staff a lot and 1 of them told me a lady came in with unruly children and they wouldn’t sell her the rabbit they lied and said it was taken already. but yes you are rigth about some places just dont’ care and when they reach adolescents then they show up at humane society or just thrown out. the children lose interest and so forth.

I did a lot of research b4 I chose rabbit as pet. and I dont’ regret getting them. when I was young I showed in 4H and so forth. My Mom told me I was ahead of my time cuz I kept 1 in the house when I did my homework and trained him where to poo etc. lol. I did my research anyway on house buns.

I just adopted Pumpkin out and oh did I ask questions and make sure the children old enuf and would the adult be willing to take care of the bunny once the children lose interest. she said yes and she knows how to hold the bunny and didn’t want her daughter holding it cuz she held it wrong. we were trying to teach the 13 yr old daughter how to old him and she couldn’t do it right so the Mom said she would not hold it i went by the other day and Pumpkin was playing on the floor. he did chew thru the wires lol. I did tell her about that. probably why she doesn’t have the $ to pay me for the cage lol. but they love him and option was open if he was too much to return him. fortunately he is doing fine.

Yes that 1 small petstore I didn’t care for but 2 here I feel are good and care and ask questions. they asked me if I knew about rabbits indoors and neuter/spay where to go and chewing when I got mine. What they were eating and so on. Too bad tho not all are good places for buns and dont’ care. Like you said.

children lose interest I have been given several buns cuz of that and found homes for them. took time tho. I would like to volunteer as rescue but my 1 bedroom small apt. and my jealous Cotton he will bite me so I had to stop that. I just couldn’t stand for Pumpkin to be eaten so I took him. fortunately it worked out. HE will be my last adoptee for now. my friends say Yeah Right. lol. I heard that one b4.

 

[bunnytowne]

the petsmart where I live only have small birds and guinea pigs some mice too eeek. they look clean and healthy and they work with cat rescue and had a ferrett in there once. oh and fish I am not saying all petsmart are good apparantly not I couldn’t work in a place like that and some people should not be working in the breeding places either. eeee.

this must be a better managed store fortunately and it is in florida. I saw that video that is so disgusting. man saying I know you are out so why are you kicking uh duh. and mass nueter like that cannot be good not one bit. with deadlines and amounts to meet.. sickening.  be a little bit b4 I eat my lunch now

[xnovalentine]

I thought since Kokaneeandkahlua asked, I would post the number. If this is against the rules, I am sorry I will delete this post. I figure that if anyone wishes to call the store I was in, they can at their own will. 1-309-691-9144 is the number. It is located in Peoria IL I am not sure who the manager is, the information on the website didn’t say but i’m sure just asking for the store manager will work.

I haven’t been back to the store to see if the 2 rabbits are still out of the rabbit tank (I call it a tank because it looks like a huge fish tank to me) and still in the small tanks mostly because I am afraid I will come home with one of them. lol…its true I was just torn when I saw those two down there.

I am currently printing off the articles on the thingy now…I haven’t called the store myself yet to discuss the matter on the phone as of yet but If you guys want to, I encourage you to do so. (If theres any speak of anything happening to the bunnies, let me know and I will go get them (thank god for student loan refunds!!!) I think I will wait to hear back via email and if nothing comes in a couple days I will call them.

Thank you everyone for your avid support with this crappy situation.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I received a ‘formish’ letter from petsmart,

Binky, am I allowed to paste that in here? I mean, it’s not slander if they sent it to me? I won’t tell you give me the Ok or not OK! Thanks

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh yeh, and xnovalentine, did you happen to notice if they were dwarf rabbits? Did they *look* old enough to be altered?

This is a bigger issue too if they are outside of their ‘pilot program’

[xnovalentine]

they were drawf rabbits … the 2 black ones i saw looked very small…very young. The 2 in the boxes looked like adults, a lot bigger than the 2 in the tank thing. How could they be outside their pilot program? i thought the whole thing was a pilot?

Was your letter encouraging or discouraging on the situation?

[Ash]

I can’t stand Petsmart and I refuse to go there. I’m glad they’ll stop selling rabbits after their “contract” is done. I really wish we’d tag along with Australia in trying to Ban all small animals from being sold in petstores. There is a rescue for every type of animal and so many homeless. Or if they are still goign to sell animals atleast only carry enough animals to give proper attention and care to. And with cats,dogs, buns they should wait until they are old enough to be altered and then be allowed to be sold (which I still don’t agree with but atleast it’s slightly better than unaltered being sold) but only a few at a time and it great environments.

Ijust wish these people got the same treatment they did to these animals done apon themselves and shown how it feels.
I REALLY dislike Petland, they just opened one here close and with 14 dwarf buns, no more than 2 months old! I’m dreading Easter being our first year as rabbit guardians and our eyes aware to this terrible time of the year for buns.

[BinkyBunny]

Regarding all of this, I have to let you all know that I have been lenient on the rules, and even participated  with  and started discussion like this one because I feel so strongly about these things just like you do, but I have to remind us all (me included) that we do have a rule regarding posts that discuss conditions and policies at specific pet stores – the rule says: Avoid using the actual names of petstores when discussing their conditions and/or policies. It is appropriate to name a specific store and location if a member is looking for a certain product and is having difficulty locating it.

There are legal reasons why this is the way it is, so from now on I think it would be best to refrain from using petstore names if you are discussing their conditions and policies. Another way to do it is you can say – a large well known petstore or a local petstore is doing this – and if you find a link on Rabbit.org or Peta that talks about then you can provide the link, or if you want to allow people to email you to get the name that would be fine. So, you can still discuss the petstores issues, but refrain from directly posting the name on any future threads.

Kokanea&Kahlua – it’s okay to post that letter since this discussion has already started. But after this thread, we will have to refrain from naming petstores until I can discuss some legality issues of naming petstores with our lawyer. Where the line can be drawn – I know there is one, and our rules blocked out any lines just to be on the safe side. But I would like to have a little more freedom so we can safely discuss issues like this.

[Stef]

Oh I can see that you have the same problems as here in germany

[xnovalentine]

I apologize binky, i didin’t realize we werent supposed to use names. I wont post anything more with names in it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

 

Here’s the letter I received, and Binky, if your lawyer says take it down, go for it, you won’t offend me !! Do what you need to and thanks for letting us post in the meantime!!

 

January 25, 2008

Dear Ms. Caragannis,

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us regarding our test of dwarf rabbit sales in our stores. Your feedback is important to us and we’re taking it seriously.

This particular test only involves about 25 of our more than 900 stores and is likely to hold at this level until we have more information. We conduct in-store tests to get a real-world view of all the issues related to the sale of a particular pet before we do anything more. During this test we’re collecting additional data and information related to breeding, health and care, associate training, retention, customer satisfaction, adoption vs. sales, population and all other aspects related to sale of these pets. We carefully test concepts to make sure the best interests of the pet, the Pet Parent and our business are served.

We consider the test successful because of what we learned from it. However, we! failed to meet the business objectives we set, so, at this time, we?re not expanding the test and will not continue to sell dwarf bunnies beyond those already in or planned for our stores.

We share your passion for pets and want to assure you we’ll do what’s right for our Pet Parents and their pets. Thanks again for sharing your concerns with us.

Sincerely,
Christy Lee
Pet Safety Specialist,

[xnovalentine]

you know, i e-mailed them too the same time you did and they still havnt sent anything back to me.

[MimzMum]

Gotta love capitalism. *snorts*
I have a  (large petstore) in the city near me. The rabbit my daughter has came from the store. (She was our second rescue this year and, as much as I hated to put money in their pockets, we did it for the sake of the bunny.) The last time I went in I didn’t see any rabbits, but I know that my daughter’s cousin bought the one that was barbering her rabbit in the tanks. It was relegated to a tiny cage for weeks. Sadly it is probably still living in this cage at her home. (I have talked to them about giving bunnies their space, but this is a young child with parents who like to spoil. Not making much headway.)
I think that all (this large petstore’s) small animals, not just the rabbits, are terribly cramped. I was wondering if they have separate runs for them in the back of the store for nighttime, like a vet’s office would, but my hubby thinks not likely. The bunnies in particular seem so uncomfortable. It’s so wrong to manipulate helpless creatures for the sake of a dollar!

Of course, my bun was abandoned on the road near our home with two other bunnies. So I can’t say folks up here particularly think of an animal’s welfare. This infuriates me.
Could someone post a link so I could find out which stores are part of this ban? I don’t want to shop there if they can’t treat the animals right. Where would I get my supplies otherwise though? Is there somewhere online that’s reliable, conscientious and healthy?

(edited after I saw your post BinkyBunny…sorry I hadn’t seen the second page of posts!)

[BinkyBunny]

KK – it’s okay, and Mimzmum – no worries. I am just being overly careful until I can get the word of what is acceptable or not. Once that is done, I’ll repost the old or “new” rules.

[xnovalentine]

I finally got a response to the letter I wrote… please let me know if its not acceptable to post it, i will take it down immediately.

Ms. Kannenberg:

I respect and appreciate your concerns for pets. In regards to your e-mail, hopefully I can convey that we at this store share the same.

We did not receive in any more rabbits. While there was one on the sales floor there were three in the treatment room waiting to go to the sales floor at the appropriate time which is why there are now four rabbits.

The reason that two of the rabbits are in the seperate habitats is because they do not get along with the others. It is for their own safety and well being.

The habitat that they are in measures 24Wx24Lx19H. We have three rabbit houses that we carry for sell for rabbits. They measure 25x19x20,30x17x16 and 16x30x18. The habitat we have them in is comparable but it is only an alternative to protect them from doing harm to one or the other or both.

We will not be receiving any more rabbits. However, feel free to call me personally any time with your concerns.

Sincerely yours,

Bill Weber

PetSmart

309-691-9144

Okay — i understand that they are in the smaller ones because they do not get along…but THAT small? what should I do? I mean I am willing to buy one of them to prevent them both from being the small cages…at least if I get one I the other can go back into their so called habitat or what i refer to as their “tank”

what are your guys’ thoughts on what i should do? I mean i dont want them to be stuck in that small little thing, but i don’t exactly want to support the petstore plague either. I want to know what others thoughts on the matter before i make a decison.

[Lion_Lop_Lover]

To be honest, xnovalentine, I would leave them be. These buns will be bought quickly enough, but it would do no good to buy one yourself because in fact you, as you noted, are only then supporting the pet store.

We can just hope that the buns are bought quickly…and to people with good intentions.

At least they are not bringing more in, that is a good enough success…

It hurts, but sometimes you just can’t support it…

[JK]

Well those cages are absolutely too small! Here’s the deal…I’m like you and would want to rescue the buns. We have a pet store here in my town that has a rabbit that has been there for 7 months and the cage is wire and so small and he gets unlimited pellets and a stand or two of hay. We all know this is all wrong!!! And they are in the pet business! This makes my blood boil!!!I have wanted to rescue this little guy for weeks BUT the truth is we can’t rescue the world. I’m a bleeding heart when it comes to animals. You have to think long and hard about will this rabbit fit it with the devil woman. I would thank the manager for his letter but diplomatically tell him what the minimum size of a cage should be and that you are concerned that these are way too small. I’d feel better telling him that whether or not they do anything about it or not. And I suppose you should CALL and talk to the guy in person. He did give you his number. You really have no idea what you are getting into with this rabbit. He could be sick and I hate to see you take this all on but go with your gut. It COULD be a blessing in disguise. Just think real hard about it.

[JK]

I don’t know about rabbits selling quickly at all.  I would not assume that because as I said above there is an adorable lop at our local pet store that has been there since July!  He’s gorgeous.  It just kills me.

[xnovalentine]

I am up for the challenge of Ms. Devilwoman if it means helping a poor bun…you’re right i do have a bleeding heart. there is no way i’m telling nick i’m even considering it. I’ve already decided that if i do do it, i’m just going to wait for him to notice and make up some sob story about how the poor bunny was abused and I was called because they knew i would take good care of them and that lullabelle needed company. I’ve already got the whole exageratted (sp?) story lined up in my head

[RabbitPam]

I agree that the rabbits will be sold fairly soon. In the meantime, if you replied to his email you could suggest that as soon as just one of the 4 is sold, the two that get along be placed in the larger habitat and that only one be left in the smaller space. It won’t matter which one is sold, just that it leaves two that are OK together.

[Ash]

Sorry Binky, I didn’t know about the use of names. I wont do it again.

[Author]

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