Sadly, Europe does seem to have stricter and therefore more responsible
legislation for animals as a whole.
NO OFFENSE MY FELLOW YANKS!!
I say this from my own observation when I was overseas. This is not to say
that INDIVIDUALS aren't as responsible. Our society just doesn't build good
animal husbandry into it's laws and GENERAL social consciousness. Nor do I
imply that Europeans are better or more responsible than Americans. Were we
as a whole, legislatively, to have similar regulations, I think that we
would have fewer and less heated discussions as well as reservations about
taking our critters to the retail market.
Just my thoughts. No offense or rebuke intended.
-----Original Message-----
From: suegreen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wednesday, August 09, 2000 8:53 AM
Subject: Re: C:Re: another gerbil project
>----------
>> From: Gerbil Maniac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Subject: Re: C:Re: another gerbil project
>> Date: 08 August 2000 16:32
>>
>> Hi Cinthia:
>>
>> Consider yourself lucky to have found out. Most pet stores guard the
>names of their animal sources almost as state secrets! I presume they fear
>that potential customers will eliminate the middleman [that is, the pet
>store].
>>
>
>
>In the UK this is not true of small owner run pet stores. They get their
>stock from local breeders and are obliged by law to keep a written record
>of all the stock they take in and the name/address of the breeder. You are
>within your rights to ask to see these records.
>
>However, the multiples like Petsmart get round this law by only getting
>stock from "approved" suppliers. I was once approached by one of these
>companies and asked if I would supply gerbils. However, they were only
>interested in people who could supply 100+ animals per month. As I only
>have one or two breeding pair of gerbils at a time, this was totally out of
>the question. What they did was had a scheduled collection day once a
>month. A van would come and collect your 100+ animals and animals from
>other breeders in your area and take them to a holding depot. From here
>they were sent out to stores all over the UK as and when they were needed.
>Sounds like a recipe for disaster as it encourages breeders to breed for
>quantity, not quality. Also the mass gathering of stock, already
>traumatized by being moved, is likely to lead to the spread of disease.
>Sue
