10 reasons why you shouldn’t buy from pet shops or backyard breeders

Abolish Puppy Farming

There has been a lot of discussion about “Puppy Farms” lately due to a recent national rally to create awareness of Oscar’s Law and to abolish puppy farming.
Whilst volunteering at the event I had a lady in her mid 50’s, who had just been passing by, come over to me and ask me to explain to her what was Oscar’s Law and why she shouldn’t buy a puppy from a pet shop. This reminded me that although we had a fantastic turnout to the event there are still so many people who have not been reached and still are not aware of why they shouldn’t support the selling of animals from pet shops. For this reason I wanted to write this article in hope that it will reach at least a few people and assist in some way to spread the word.

10 reasons why you shouldn’t buy from pet shops or backyard breeders

1. Approximately 150,000 dogs and cats are euthanized in Australia each year due to several reasons, one of which, too many people impulse buy puppies and kittens from pet shops who end up surrendering them or dumping them.
2. By purchasing from a pet shop, you are supporting the puppy farms that pet shops purchase from who breeds hundreds of puppies in poor conditions and some who never see the light of day.
3. Shelters and other welfare groups have many beautiful pets that you can adopt. They are not only 1/3 of the price but they also come de-sexed, micro-chipped and vaccinated!
4. By purchasing from your neighbour or from the Trading Post you encourage them to continue to breed from their pets to make some money.  A huge number of these dogs are not sold micro-chipped or de-sexed which leads to more and more litters and more and more unwanted and euthanized pets.
5. Pet shops are mainly located in high traffic shopping centres where they encourage impulse buying of live animals! Unlike a new dress or pair of shoes, these pets live for sometimes 10 to 15 years and need daily exercise and training.
6. Some backyard litters are the result of the family pet escaping and mating with the pet down the road. This is very irresponsible pet ownership and could be avoided if everyone de-sexed their pets at the age of 6 months.
7. Puppies that are purchased from pet shops have sometimes spent most of their lives in a dark cage and have missed out on crucial learning and developing of their personality and conduct. This can lead to many behaviour issues in the future.
8. Backyard pets are sometimes not checked for hereditary problems and could be passing these problems onto future generations.
9. All dogs and cats that are available for adoption have all gone through behaviour and health checks to ensure they are suitable for re-homing.
10. By adopting animals you are helping to decrease the market for puppies and help to discourage puppy farming and backyard breeding for profit.

Kate Picker
Owner of Roka Pet Photography

Filled Under : Animal Charity , Cats , Dogs