“Is this a campaign against Pet Shops?”
No, not at all. We support Pet product shops who do not sell live animals – we advocate everyone who cares about this to support them. There are Pet Shops that work with rescue organisations in partnership to re-home abandoned animals - let's support them. Here is a lovely example of a win:win:win relationship between the pet shop, the rescue organisation AND the animals...

"I would like to tell you about our local Pet Store. Petcare Superstore at South Tweed has always supported us in so many ways. They have a permanent large cage in the store just for our kittens or cats. They have now given us space in the store (and built it) for a ‘Pet Adoption Booth’, all we had to pay for was an LCD screen for a slide show of all our animals at the pound and in foster care, for which we had a grant from the Council. So we now have an “office” with a phone etc. it makes such a difference. They have recently put in another bigger cage for the kittens and the other cage is for an adult cat, the kittens are taken home each night by one of the staff and the adult cat is taken home by Kylie who owns the store! It is wonderful to have that support." Friends of the Pound Tweed Inc

However, we will NOT support Pet Shops selling animals for profit, as this encourages and is part of the over-breeding problem.

“Hasn’t the program of registration, desexing and micro-chipping helped?”
Yes it has. Compulsory registration, enforced micro-chipping and desexing must take precedence over everything else. To reduce the kill rate we need breeders, pounds and shelters to desex their pets BEFORE they are sold.

“But animals are really well looked after in Pet Shops these days.”
Much progress has been made in recent years for the well-being of animals in the store, and they are to be congratulated for that. But still, puppies and kittens confined alone in small glass cages is less than ideal.

But that is not the point. The inescapable conclusion is that many Pet Shops are a significant part of the over-supply chain. Until they take some responsibility for taking care of the outcome of huge excess of supply in the market then this situation will continue.

“Won’t Pet shops go out of business if they don’t sell live animals?”
Not at all. There are many Pet Shops who don’t sell puppies and kittens, and they are doing very well eg Pet Barn and PetBiz. Many other countries have already banned the sale of live animals in pet shops. People will always have pets, and they will always need pet supplies and products. Many conscientious pet owners won’t go to a store selling kittens and puppies but buy their pet supplies from pet product-only stores.

“But aren’t I doing the right thing by surrendering an animal to a local Pound if I can't look after it any more?”
If you really have to, find a Shelter that has a no-kill policy, but only after you have tried all avenues to find a good, caring home yourself. Remember that many pounds and shelters cannot guarantee the life of your animal if it is not rehomed quickly, so please select very carefully before you do this.

“But it’s too hard to go to the Rescue Agencies for a pet because they are mainly out of town. The Pet shop at my local Shopping Centre is much more convenient.”
Always adopt from your local rescue agency. If you cannot get there, have a look at their website or give them a phone call. Ask about a pet you like and they will do everything they can to get you matched up!