Pet Store Feeders and Pet policy...yet another spinoff

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Originally Posted by Running Elk

Then you'll find this interesting.

Rabbit people are split and at war. HRS and ARBA.

House Rabbit Society is rabbit PETA. Don't breed, don't eat rabbits and boycott places associated with meat rabbits, always spay and nueter, no rabbits for kids, no purebreds, no reptiles, etc. it sucks because they have some incredible information on rabbit care and do advocate some good things as far as rabbit welfare. They are known to call the SPCA on and even steal rabbits from ARBA people. It's so bad that many rabbit breeders are wary to deal with selling rabbits to those outside of the community. This is very very rarely because the conditions are poor, but because of volume of rabbits breeders need to produce show stock. An up-tight, preachy, rude community that scolds people who seek help but are rabbit-ignorant.

ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association), A relaxed community who breeds and shows rabbits. A generally nice community, though increasingly wary of outsiders. I've had lots of fun at rabbit conventions and shows. Many of these people have farms, and culls often are eaten, donated to zoos, or sold/given to reptile people. A friend of mine used to donate her culls to the reptile section of her local zoo.

Both make up the rabbit community. It's a civil war. The rabbit forum is litterally split into two parts, with strict rules on not taking your opinions to the other half. Mostly because HRS people are vicious and will hijack and preach anywhere they can. ARBA people will sometimes defend themselves (if not just ignore it) than then a major fight happens.

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Well this is news to me. Doesn't surprise me though. We were getting into show rabbits for a bit, but my daughter and friend lost interest so I only just barely got started in it. Then they thought about meat rabbits, then they gave up, lol. At the time I didn't have anything that would take a larger rabbit, so I stopped breeding, since I couldn't break even selling them around here. Wish it had been as easy to find breeders back when I had burms. I recently get another burm for a pet, so being able to breed my own will come in handy. Too bad there are so many judgmental people in the world.

Wow, I live in the Chicago area. All the petco's around me are more then happy to sell you as many feeders as you need. If they do ask what it's for, it's usally because they're courius and fascinated about snakes. Or have one. Met some decent people that way. But petsmart has a no live feeder policy. Even though on occasion, they'll sell you one.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Actually this has been happening for a long time. Not all of those '100 lot' sales of captive hatched ball pythons out of Africa are going to breeders or pet stores. People who keep cobras buy them too.

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Sure. I realize that.

The point was more that some people get annoyed or angry when someone selling a rat or mouse wants it to end up as a pet rather than as food, like the person selling has no right to want their animal to be valued as someone's pet. "It's my rat I'll do what I want", but I'm sure some of those same people would be unhappy if they themselves were selling their cute little BP hatchlings as pets or future breeders and someone just bought one and tossed it in the cobra tank.

My Dad grew up on a farm. My grandpa raised chickens and hogs and crops. One time when one of their sows had a litter there was a runt in the group. Most of the time runts were euthanized as they rarely survived on their own. This time, for some reason, Grandpa kept the runt and took it into the house where they kept it warm and bottle fed it until it was stronger. After caring for it and saving it's life the family became kind of bonded to this little pig so they named it Orville and kept it as a pet. Orville had the run of the farm and played with my Dad and hung out around the family and their other pets. Orville prefered the company of people over other pigs. Orville lived to a ripe old age with a loving family while his brothers and sisters were slaughtered, butchered, smoked and eaten while still young.

I guess my point to this is that we as individuals decide what is and what is not a pet, it is NOT dependent on species but how we as people interact with a particular animal. Pets are not born, pets are created by how we feel and become emotionally attached to an individual animal.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

I guess my point to this is that we as individuals decide what is and what is not a pet, it is NOT dependent on species but how we as people interact with a particular animal. Pets are not born, pets are created by how we feel and become emotionally attached to an individual animal.

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The warm fuzzies must be flying this morning. I couldn't possibly agree more. Thank you.[/THREAD]

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Originally Posted by MarkS

My Dad grew up on a farm. My grandpa raised chickens and hogs and crops. One time when one of their sows had a litter there was a runt in the group. Most of the time runts were euthanized as they rarely survived on their own. This time, for some reason, Grandpa kept the runt and took it into the house where they kept it warm and bottle fed it until it was stronger. After caring for it and saving it's life the family became kind of bonded to this little pig so they named it Orville and kept it as a pet. Orville had the run of the farm and played with my Dad and hung out around the family and their other pets. Orville prefered the company of people over other pigs. Orville lived to a ripe old age with a loving family while his brothers and sisters were slaughtered, butchered, smoked and eaten while still young.

I guess my point to this is that we as individuals decide what is and what is not a pet, it is NOT dependent on species but how we as people interact with a particular animal. Pets are not born, pets are created by how we feel and become emotionally attached to an individual animal.

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Right. I don't disagree with that either. Maybe I'm just not communicating the point of my post well. It has nothing to do with how animals are actually used or whether or not it's okay to feed certain animals to each other.

It's a simple matter of respect.

If you raise rats and sell them as feeders, you don't care that I buy them and drop them in my enclosures. Someone feeding their snakes can buy from you and everyone is happy.

If I raise rats, want them to be kept as pets, and don't want to sell to people who are simply going to feed them to snakes, I don't understand why people get annoyed by this, or lie to cover up what they are doing. It's a basic matter of simple respect. Find another source that doesn't care.

I personally don't care if BP's are fed to cobras, nor do I care that mice are fed to snakes (obviously). I do find it a bit disrespectful to lie about the use of the animal when buying it from someone who clearly cares how it is used. They don't have the right to tell the buyer how to use it, but if someone raises rats who likes them and wants their babies to go to someone who will keep it as a pet rather than a food source, I don't understand why those simple wishes can't just be respected and another food source found.

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Originally Posted by 200xth

Maybe I'm just not communicating the point of my post well. It has nothing to do with how animals are actually used or whether or not it's okay to feed certain animals to each other.

It's a simple matter of respect.

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I feel like you're both saying the same thing. What's not being communicated well? :confusd:

fair enough, and I agree for the most part. However I just get annoyed by people telling me what I can or can not do with MY animal, and if I buy an animal it's MINE. Of course you also have the right not to sell it to me, but if you want to maintain control over what happens to it, then why are you selling it in the first place?

(and when I say 'you' I don't mean you in particular, 'you' meaning the seller)

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Originally Posted by MarkS

fair enough, and I agree for the most part. However I just get annoyed by people telling me what I can or can not do with MY animal, and if I buy an animal it's MINE. Of course you also have the right not to sell it to me, but if you want to maintain control over what happens to it, then why are you selling it in the first place?

(and when I say 'you' I don't mean you in particular, 'you' meaning the seller)

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I find it hard to believe that someone who cares about the animals they produce would not care about the well-being of their animals after they are sold. It's not about maintaining control - it's about finding a good home for an animal that you've put so much time, energy, and (hopefully) love into - not to mention money. Just because it's for sale doesn't mean that you no longer want the best for it.

I think we may be getting off point here. Seems the OP was complain just about the attitude of the salesperson involved, and I can fully understand that. I have no problem with a breeder or store that doesn't want to sell whatever animal as food, and I respect the right of a seller to refuse to sell to someone. But I do take issue with the people who want to treat you like dirt in the process. And not that it matters, but if a person came to me and wanted one of the balls I had produced as a feeder, I'd be ok with it. They just have to pay for it like anyone else.