>From: Julian and Jackie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>stronger in the US, but I believe that promoting gerbils as rare or
>expensive will only encourage the sort of people who should never own
>gerbils.
I think this is what you are misunderstanding here!
It is NOT a matter of promotingthem as rare or expensive! its a matter of
promting them as havign value period.
If you adopted a cat or dog at a shelter where I am, expect to pay $75 (it
will include a 1st vet visit and spay/neuter).
$75 is not "expensive" when you realize that the animal needs vet care,
food, shelter, time/attention etc through out its life. If you cant afford
$75 how will you afford the basics of that animal's care? Plus, $75 for
MOST peopel is not an "impulse buy"- but somethign youll hae to stop and
think about.
Sure it does not screan out everyone whod be a "bad" pet owner- but it does
screan out SOME. AND it also makes the animal valuable monetarily in case
there is ever a question of legalities (Remember, Our court system will not
recognize an animal as worth fighting for enless it has a "value"). ALSO is
deters peopel looking for cheep SNAKE FOOD. I put ads in the paper a
several years ago sayign 'to good homes'- I had about 10 calls from peopl
wanting "All of the colony you dont want, and can you freeze them first?"
and 2, yes only TWO peopel interested in pets. When I did "to good home-
Not for snake food"- I STILL got snake peopel calling but making up really
STUPID lies (like one i had was a guy who said that his 3 year old son
wanted a large colony of various small animals- liek 20 or so- and being he
has no allowence, wanted free of course. yeah right!) Granted, i could
"screen out" those snake peoepl with an interveiw- but you know what- I dont
want to waste my time or emotions on it! Slap a price tag on there just
over pet shop costs and they stop calling.
If it WAS about promoting gerbs as "rare" or "exotic" then we'd be pushign
for peopel to charge common small-animal exotic prices- like that of sugar
gliders, hedgehogs and other such critters- we'd be saying "Charge
$75-150!!!" (if not for the agouti's for the slates and burmeses).
But we are NOT sayign they shoudl be promoted as rare and exotic- only
promoted as "valueable- like any other animal". If vets and courts and
lanlordes look at pets by their cost, then we will never have the respect
for small animals that cats/dogs get if we dont make them valuable. (I
beleive the "valuebleness" is a "ratio" of the animals length of life also-
so a gerb or rat that will live a few years shouldnt be as much as a cat
that will live 17, just that the sum should be "substantial" enough in
relationship to the species that anyone not totally in awe of the species
will at least not insultus with comments about "why bother giving it vet
care- dump it and buy a new one.".
BTW, if peopel are gettign defensive about it because they are thinking "hey
im a kid I couldnt afford to pay $10 for each gerbil, Plus food and vet
etc...", Id say calm down about it. in the rat/mouse fancy here, peopel
usually give a "discount" or even free animals to peopel that are members of
the same fancier group so long as they havent heard questionable/bad things
about the care they give. You might not be able to, as the general public,
get a manxrat out of me for anythign less than $50, but half the manxes Ive
produced actually went to free homes because I knew the person cared well
for their critters.
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