Disgusted

Today I went to visit my fiance at work while he was on his lunch break. He works in a factory which is oddly located in the middle of the country side. Where we live has a large Amish community, and I pass many Amish farms on my trip today (and every day when I was in high school). Although I respect the Amish way of living simply, many farms are notorious for breeding animals for the pet trade. I was disgusted to see a "rabbits for sale" sign outside one of these farms today. I have often seen advertisements at similar farms for small dog breeds, and having worked with a local bovine vet when I was in middle school I have witnessed first hand the poor conditions and disregard (or ignorance) of genetics when it comes to breeding healthy animals. I obviously can't say that all Amish are guilty of running irresponsible breeding operations, however I am still disappointed to see animals, though especially rabbits which are so misunderstood as companion animals, being handed out without regard for their welfare in exchange for cash.

Bottom line: forcing animals to reproduce for the purpose of monetary income is inhumane. There are more productive occupations than sentencing animals to lives of misery due to poor breeding and delivering them to anyone with a few bucks and most likely no education on proper animal husbandry.

Whenever I come across situations like this I nearly want to shell out all my cash to save these poor creatures, but I would only be fulfilling the goals of the breeder. People need to be educated for this problem to be resolved, but even then people need to have the compassion for all life in there heart for them to put this education to use.

Pet Store Problem

So lately I've buying my rabbit supplies at Uncle Bill's Pet Center, a local chain of pet stores in Indianapolis. It is convenient because it lies in route to my grocery store, but whenever I go there I'm overcome with dread. This store is full of animals! especially bunnies.. half a dozen in each glass cage and there are usually 4 to 8 of these designated to rabbits alone. There are others for guinea pigs and chinchillas as well as wire crates with puppies etc. In fact I feel comfortable estimating that no more than half of the square footage is dedicated to the supplies you need for the pets. On all my visits there has never been more than 2 of the large bags of Oxbow timothy hay (the small ones would hardly last a day).

Another problem I have is the lack of info about the pets available. I've noticed that even the national pet store chains have begun posting basic facts and care information on enclosures.

I would like to add that I don't know much about Uncle Bill's Pet Centers policies and what not, but it has made me concerned on a larger scale. Is there any legislation (passed or in the process) which requires pet stores to educate patrons bringing an animal into their home? If not there should be, because I doubt the majority of people do the research themselves. I'm not saying this would eliminate the problem of abandoned and neglected pets, but it is something to think about (and maybe get the ball rolling), especially with Easter coming up (which all bunny lovers know is just a few months prior to an influx of unwanted rabbits in shelters).