 Pet Store Watch
The Avian Welfare Coalition is opposed to the breeding, mass-marketing, and selling of birds through pet stores. Because of the continuing exotic pet trade, thousands and thousands of displaced captive parrots and other birds are now awaiting adoption at bird adoption and rescue organizations. While many stores have responded to public pressure to discontinue puppy and kitten sales in favor of sponsoring adoption days, few have responded to the increasing exotic animal homelessness problem. In fact, they continue to market parrots and other exotics as "easy" pets, contributing to the epidemic. Exotic animals — including birds — make extremely demanding, difficult pets, and few stores are equipped or staffed to either care properly for the birds in their store or give educated advice to potential buyers. The AWC feels that pet stores should sell only quality supplies and not live birds or any other animals.
 How to Spot a Bad Pet Store
Born Free USA offers consumers a quick guide to help animal advocates identify and document problems in pet shops, to aid in reporting conditions to law enforcement authorities, and to facilitate corrective action and routine inspections. Click here for details.
Know the Laws Governing Pet Shops
The Current State of Pet Shop Laws
By Born Free USA
Current Law and Suggested Approaches to Improving Captive Bird Welfare
By Born Free USA
How You Can Help!
It’s up to you! Do not encourage or condone bad care standards by buying anything—animals or animal care products --from stores that sell live animals. Your dollar is your vote for change!
Support Compassionate Pet Supply Stores! Find compassionate pet supply stores that do not sell live animals in your neighborhood. Visit Born Free USA’s Pet Supply Locator.
What To Do If You Observe Poor Pet Store Conditions
- • Politely share your bird care knowledge with pet store staff and management. Sometimes proper care is just a matter of proper education.
- • Write factual letters of complaint to the pet store’s management and/or corporate headquarters. Provide documentation of your observations. Threaten to boycott the store until they clean up their act. Encourage your friends to do the same.
- • Report any abuse of substandard conditions to your local animal shelter, humane society, bird adoption/rescue group, law enforcement agency, and or national animal welfare organization.
Tell Us About Your Pet Store Experience.
The Avian Welfare Coalition and our individual members have been communicating our concern to PETsMART and PETCO regarding the suffering caused by production breeding and the mass-marketing of parrots and other birds in their stores. We are currently collecting evaluations of PETsMART, PETCO, and other pet store conditions to serve as data for future meetings with corporate executives.
We need your help! If you would like to participate in our Pet Store Watch investigation, please fill out our Pet Store Watch form.
Important Note: The AWC will not use your evaluation to take any action against a particular store, but will use the data you submit as a foundation for communicating our concern to corporate executives of pet stores retailers. Please also continue your own efforts to improve pet store conditions by writing to store management and corporate headquarters and reporting substandard care to your local humane organization.
Click here to submit a General Pet Store Watch Evaluation Form to the Avian Welfare Coalition. |
