petco
- Thread starter dorky
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scionreefing
New member
asim58
New member
Have to agree it all comes down to the people who are working there. I've been to many horrible stores, chain stores and independent stores. These pics are from a petco by the way. Taken with a cell phone so the clarity is not so good but you get the point. Lighting is t-5ho, two 4ft bulbs over a what is basically a 33 long.
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scionreefing
New member
ezerasurfr
New member
If you believe your local Petco has poor care, report them to your local animal control office. These are living animals and have certain rights. Each franchise is responsible for who they hire and what they keep. If they have someone providing inadequate care, report them. Simple enough. If you walked into a petco and the ferrets were in a box without air holes, wouldnt you report them? So why not report them for inadequate housing of corals?
Just my opinion. It may help clean-up the Petco reputation by dissolving those SW locations that cannot provide care (due to hefty fines by animal control).
Just my opinion. It may help clean-up the Petco reputation by dissolving those SW locations that cannot provide care (due to hefty fines by animal control).
James77
Team RC
IMO corals are pretty far down the list of things that police should be consuming their time on. Corals cannot even feel anything, so they are not suffering. I hate to say it, but very few people would agree that fish have the rights of dogs and cats. Should they go after feeder fish as well? Earthworms or shiners that get impaled on fishing hooks at your local tackle shop?
I am not saying improper care of coral and fish is alright. But I would much rather very limited resources and attention be paid to dogs, cats, horses, birds that are higher up the evolutionary ladder and can sense pain and mistreatment.
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RubberFrog
New member
^ I can just see someone dialing 911 to report a sick fish at petco.
scionreefing
New member
topbottomfeeder
New member
there are quite a few fish stores in my area that have fish with ammonia burn from uncycled tanks, it just sickens me that these self professed "fish lovers" choose profit over quality.
ezerasurfr
New member
Its not like swat is going to go busting down the doors. It will be a simple fine through a thorough investigation (which is most likely required if the store's fish section is in disarray, what does the rest of it look like?).
It takes a simple phone call that you're out-right dismissing because there are other more important animals to worry about, right? I disagree completely. We have these offices in place for a reason, and a little control won't hurt anybody. So what's the worst that comes out of a quick phone call - animal control has a little more paperwork? Please... let's just take a second to really think about the consequences of a call to animal control and see if it will really add up to taking up a substantial amount of time that will in turn lead to more cats/dogs getting abused...
lol, would never make it past the dispatcher around here, let alone a court room.
it would go into file 13 right along with the UFO sighting and the call about the mean hunter/trapper tormenting the fuzzy woodland critters :spin2:
James77
Team RC
A simple fine and a thorough investigation....from our governments? :lmao::lmao::lmao:
Give your local police departments animal control a call and report a thin fish, or a bleached anemone or coral. Then please report to us the reaction.
It is far more than a simple phone call. Officers have to go out and investigate all of these complaints. That takes time and alot of money to pay people. Pensions, benefits, vehicles.....if you start going after fish stores, where do we draw the line? It is far more expensive to implement than you think, and the fines will not cover it. Those fines will get fought by impressive lawyers, further bogging down a broken nearly bankrupt system.
Yes, there are MORE IMPORTANT animals than fish and coral, I hate to tell you. As far as suffering in a pet store, they could take the corals out and step on them and it would not be cruel since they can feel nothing. It might disgust you or I, but cats, dogs, horses, birds, etc are all alot higher in the eyes of the law.
Any thoughts on the shiners or eels in the bait shop that are skewered on barbed hooks, thrown into the water (without acclimation
), and allowed to be gobbled up? How about the countless fish that die shipping them into our hobby in the first place, those that rot on loading docks or perish in FedEx planes? Maybe the ignorant hobbyists that kill countless fish as well?I don't need to really think about it. There are far more abused animals that are tortured and don't get the attention because of short staffed police departments and that is without throwing fish and coral in their job description. I DO consider fish to be far lower on my give-a-crap-o-meter than cats, dogs, farm stock, etc.
You have the ability to boycott or voice your displeasure with Petco or any of the far more numerous LFS that are even worse than the dreaded Petco. Stop shopping there, and let them know exactly why. They will not care if it is just you, but several dozen people do so and they will notice.
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James77
Team RC
It's the American way. There are far worse fates than a LFS, plenty of marine life is hauled out of the ocean and allowed to die and try in the sun for ornaments. But they will not get profit without your money. They want your money. If you feel that strongly about a store, then voice your opinion to them and take your business elsewhere if they do not do anything or brush you off. I have been the squeaky wheel plenty enough times with all sorts of companies to know that alot can get accomplished.
girlygears13
New member
There are two Petco's in my area, one is an utter disaster, and the other is run by a really nice guy who knows his stuff and actually is a member of RC. You can't lump in every store together since it really comes down to individual employees and their managers. I have made it a habit to complain at the bad Petco as often as I can. I even offered to work there part time to make sure their animals got better care, alas, I wasn't hired:blown:
ezerasurfr
New member
My local Petco is fine. It is the Milltown NJ Petco discussed on these and other forums before. Also, making a claim for animal control does not always require a follow-up. If there is something to be had in the investigation, I trust my government will do their job (most of the time).
For the person making the complaint, it is a simple phone call. It really sounds like you need a cause to champion - perhaps you can fix the "broken nearly bankrupt system". Why not, you seem to think you have all the answers?
I quite understand there are more important animals out there. This does not mean ALL animals don't deserve justice, or the chance to live. If someone (especially a store supposedly promoting animal welfare) is not giving proper care, there are avenues for the public to utilize to get them to cooperate. Americans pay taxes for these systems - who are you telling them not to use them because YOU believe those systems are already too busy and broken.
Any thoughts on the shiners or eels in the bait shop that are skewered on barbed hooks, thrown into the water (without acclimation
Where there is abuse investigated and found guilty, justice is usually not far behind. There are many cases of home abuse regarding fish and reef tanks. A simple Google search can provide you with hours of reading. You can learn all about it. When a store is responsible for their livestock, and do not provide adequate care - IMO a call should be made to have an investigation take place. You may not believe this, but I certainly do. There is a system in place in America for a reason.
I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm really glad I do get to think about things. It makes me objective and gives me the insight to research things I am not fully aware of. Funny thing is, I also consider fish far lower on my "give-a-crap-o-meter" than domesticated animals as well. But I also believe that ALL animals have rights - even the lowest of the low and the ones that aren't so cute...
I would believe this would be the best way to object if it were their POLICY to run their SW systems the way they do. However, this is not what people are complaining about, or posting photos of. Petco (and I'm sure many other places) are not providing the proper care for their livestock - this doesnt need to be boycotted - it NEEDS to be reported.
Feel free to reply again, but I am done with this discussion with you. You can have your opinion and I can have mine. All I can offer to everyone else (besides this probably aggravating banter) is to use the methods available to you to stop improper care of the local livestock in your area. Don't do nothing.
James77
Team RC
Ok, go after them. Write them a letter, avoid them.
I have all the answers, huh?
More like a realistic view. As do I! I never said that it was great that they treat fish the way they do, did I? You should see me recoil in horror if someone crushes a bug, except for the handful odf pesty ones.
Im sorry, but it is just so unrealistic to expect "our government" to step in and rescue the day. In the utopian world we would not even have to. The reality is that the local govermnet agencies are desperate for money. Policing even more costs money they simply do not have. If it has to be one way or the other, fish or cats, I will take resources going to cats and stemming the stray populations and preventing their problems before some fish at Petco.
I'd rather the money that it would take to increase policing at a handful of LFS or Petcos to go to policing the reefs and arresting and imprisoning those that take illegally from it. THAT would make a real difference.
Ahhhh, but of course! I gave a few short replies then for you, save both of our time. :beer:
Somethings will never change. We can always stop shopping in these stores, but the main percentage of people in this hobby are just impulsive shoppers. They would buy anything just to look at it for a while and when it dies they can just replace it. They do not acknowledge fish or corals as animals so therefor the death of them means nothing. I have worked in the past for a similar company such as Petco that sells fish. Did you know they did not even have fish under livestock in their inventory? Also that they only had to keep about 30% of the fish alive to not get a red flag from corporate. These companies get freshwater fish at such a ridiculous price of 30 cents and then sells for 5+ dollars. So massive death is still profitable as long as they sell a set percent. So its just a game of numbers and not quality of care. I know i gave an example of freshwater fish but i know buying from ORA or Sustainable Aquatics still has a decent profit even with mass death. In my opinion Petco has the capacity and the capital to have an amazing fish department. Question is would they spend so much time maintaining the standard and only sell such a limited supply? I think i am done here for now. Do not want to start an essay.
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ironman187
New member
Funny, two out of the four I have visited do have an amazing fish department.
While some stores may have a level of quality/competence, in general I wouldn't purchase fish from Petco (or Petsmart, or any of the large-box pet stores). Then again, I wouldn't purchase a dog, cat, bird, or lizard from them either. Nothing wrong with getting dry goods, but their business model just doesn't seem to focus on the labor-intensive work (it takes a lot less cost to load dog food onto a shelf than to care for something living).
