Parakeet Prohibitions: Coming to a City Near You!

[ER12]

In addition to cats and dogs, the sale ban would apply to birds, reptiles, amphibians and animals such as mice, hamsters and ferrets.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.as...8937&catid=188

[mainbutter]

idiots.

[mommanessy247]

hm thats kinda sad. but the article said exactly what i was thinking upon reading the first couple paragraughs...if their "target" is kitten/puppy mills then go shut THEM down not pet stores...but then again some pet stores stock their cages with puppy/kitten mill animals...so eh i guess it kinda goes hand in hand. anyways i feel bad for pet store owners/employees if that ban passes cuz so many businesses will end abruptly leaving alot of ppl unemployed thus raising the unemployment rate instead of lowering it...

[mainbutter]

but then again some pet stores stock their cages with puppy/kitten mill animals...so eh i guess it kinda goes hand in hand.

Did you read this part?

While a few stores in Fort Collins sell small animals, such as birds and reptiles, Pet City in Foothills Malls is the only store that sells puppies.

It's not even 'SOME' stores. It's ONE.. and apparently they have inspected and approve of the source of their puppies. While I have not heard any independent reviews of their source, not all people who breed dogs for profit are evil animal abusers. I'd hope that as a community filled with animal breeders, we'd recognize that they may very well be a good business and good people.

[Cody John Steele]

This is retarded, I'll quote something from that article....

"I just wanted to do something in Fort Collins knowing how much we love our animals and advocate for humane treatment," she said. "I want to take that one step further."

That one step further the CSU student mentioned will actually induce UN-HUMANE treatment. The "Humane" society will come in after they shut the place down, and just euthanize everything.

[reptile65]

I actually go to school here at CSU in Fort Collins. I'm a member of the Pre-veterinary club and have seen several students involved in the petition. I did not sign the petition, because I'm not sure that I agree with it. I definitely support shutting down puppy mills, but I don't really think this is the right way to go about it.

Also, just to clarify, this petition will not make it against the law to sell pets in pet stores right away, it will simply add the issue to the ballot to be voted on.

[ER12]

Reptile65- Thanks for the insight. However, this is what perplexes me about this:

1) If her stated goal is to either close down or regulate puppy mills, then how will proposing to end all retail sales of dogs and cats in one municipality have any impact? Puppy mills will simply sell their sub-standard stock through other venues and to other retail locations in other municipalities...

Likewise and similiarly,

2) How does the inclusion of reptiles and most other species of animals besides cats and dogs accomplish this goal at all?

3) It seems to me that the girl who started this petition clearly has no clue or expertise in reptile husbandry, since she actually made the comparison between many species of small, easily kept/managed captive bred herps and a large, free roaming wild caught mammal that is seldom kept as a pet to begin with. To me, that diminishes her credibility greatly.

Just because the issue is a petition now does not mean it should not be considered any less of a threat to our hobby. I have seen such AR agenda based ordinances pass in several local municipalities, subseqntlly serving as precedents later for the same regulations statewide. These college students may mean well, but it seems that they don't fully understand the issue they are trying to advocate against, how to properly address the issue, and what implications their petition will have, if successful. That combination of ignorance and emotionally driven influence is what I find dangerous and alarming.

[reptile65]

Reptile65- Thanks for the insight. However, this is what perplexes me about this:

1) If her stated goal is to either close down or regulate puppy mills, then how will proposing to end all retail sales of dogs and cats in one municipality have any impact? Puppy mills will simply sell their sub-standard stock through other venues and to other retail locations in other municipalities...

Likewise and similiarly,

2) How does the inclusion of reptiles and most other species of animals besides cats and dogs accomplish this goal at all?

3) It seems to me that the girl who started this petition clearly has no clue or expertise in reptile husbandry, since she actually made the comparison between many species of small, easily kept/managed captive bred herps and a large, free roaming wild caught mammal that is seldom kept as a pet to begin with. To me, that diminishes her credibility greatly.

Just because the issue is a petition now does not mean it should not be considered any less of a threat to our hobby. I have seen such AR agenda based ordinances pass in several local municipalities, subseqntlly serving as precedents later for the same regulations statewide. These college students may mean well, but it seems that they don't fully understand the issue they are trying to advocate against, how to properly address the issue, and what implications their petition will have, if successful. That combination of ignorance and emotionally driven influence is what I find dangerous and alarming.

I couldn't agree more. There's a reason I didn't sign the petition. The thing that makes me sad is that I think these people have good intentions, but they don't realize that this type of regulation will have more negative consequences than positive ones. I definitely think there are better ways to go about solving the issue of puppy mills and kitten factories.

[Dragoon]

lots of really bad mistakes were made with good intentions. misinformation is the same problem we as reptile keepers face in a never ending headache.