Kudos to Petsmart

[amanda143]

I have been pretty hard on petsmart and petco in the past but I wanted to say that today I saw something that I have NEVER seen before, at this store or any others in the metroplex. The petsmart in Burleson off of I-35 had fresh carrots and pellets mixed with seed for their finches and parakeets. I was pretty shocked when I saw that. I almost took a picture! ha I guess someone finally decided it was their best interest to take care of their birds...Kudos to petsmart!

[Peanutbutter]

Both my local Petco & Petsmarts' are clean and the fids are on a Kaytee seed/pellet mix. Never seen fresh in there.

The turtles, hamsters, rats, and other small furry things get fresh vegis though!

[expressmailtome]

I have only twice seen anything fresh food wise at PetSmart. Once it was for the sun conures. The other time was years ago for a Military macaw. That was quite a long time ago.

Matt

[nixity]

I recently saw the veggies in there too.
My only cause for concern is that when I saw the veggies, it was close to 5pm.
Most of them were not touched - lord only knows how long they'd been sitting there turning into a viral, fungal and bacteria treat.

[nixity]

It's also worth mentioning that I previously applied at PetSmart out of desperation. Being that I have plenty of experience with animals, I was a shoe in.
I decided to inform the manager that the Gouldian finch they had advertised as a male was in fact female.
He "huh'd" and said to me: "We typically do not get females in because we don't allow our finches to breed while they are in the store. This is because all of our birds have to be vet checked before being offered for sale to ensure they are healthy and ready for their new homes."

Can I scream BS now?
They had about 12 societies crammed into three nests with 4 eggs and about 5-6 babies between them.
They also had stars breeding (pretty incredible, given the circumstances) and at another location they had a pair of diamond doves feeding a baby and three pairs of canaries on eggs.
JMHO but I think if they were really trying to stick to their guns and do their best they wouldn't allow opportunities for these birds to breed in house.
Apparently it goes against their ethics (yet they don't seem to care), and they openly lie or mislead others about it.
In the end - I turned down the opportunity for various reasons, namely I got a better offer elsewhere and I also couldn't bring myself to stoop to that level.

There is a strawberry finch at the closest location to me that could qualify in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's longest toenails. They have never once clipped this birds toes and his nails curl down and back up on a few toes. I've also mentioned this - and they have yet to do anything.

[SDavid]

While it's great to see animals kept under good conditions in any particular Petsmart (or petstore in general) I can't get out of my mind the living conditions in the bird-mills that supply them. Their breeder birds live a miserable existence. I'm sure Petsmart or the like won't make any pictures of those places public anytime soon. What the average shopping-center patron is exposed to is just the surface.

If anyone's curious check out Mira Tweti's book "Of Parrots and People" where she goes into this subject a bit deeper.

[amanda143]

Ok guys, I wasn't saying that all petsmart are great but I was impressed with the improvement of this one in particular. I also know that they don't always buy birds from "bird mills" because several people I know sell theirs to a few of the local petsmart and petco's.

[odhinn]

Originally Posted by SDavid

While it's great to see animals kept under good conditions in any particular Petsmart (or petstore in general) I can't get out of my mind the living conditions in the bird-mills that supply them. Their breeder birds live a miserable existence. I'm sure Petsmart or the like won't make any pictures of those places public anytime soon. What the average shopping-center patron is exposed to is just the surface.

If anyone's curious check out Mira Tweti's book "Of Parrots and People" where she goes into this subject a bit deeper.

First off I do not nor have ever agreed with the exploitation or abuse of animals. Now that that is said so no-one takes me wrong.

Settle down man, No one is saying that Petsmart or petco is a glorious place that is the bestest place in the world to shop for pets. Yes...bird mills do exist and they do supply the majority of pet stores. But that is not always the case. I know a breeder here that use to supply many hookbills to pet stores in your state. His were flight breed in a large aviary and well taken care of. I personally do not get birds from anyone unless I know where they came from (the breeder). Some people actually have no where else to shop for their birds/pets because of the location they live in. As far as the book, if you want to step down that path check out how wool is collected for cloths or how meat gets to the grocery store. There are many things in this world that are sick and would make most people puke.

If this store has hired someone knowledgable or contracted a person to come in to take care of the birds they have, then good for them. They are not the evil behind all this garbage. The majority of the human race is.

As far as what was stated in another post here. Since when do store managers know anything about the stores they actually run.

Rant off:

[Eliza]

The Petsmarts in my area (all of which are no more than 5 miles from the other) are pretty good about veggies and fruit for the birds, veggies for the small animals and hay for the guinea pigs.

I just wish that Petsmart would come clean about the lovebirds they seized from stores in 2007. I know of several Petsmart lovebirds that tested positive for PBFD.

[SDavid]

"As far as the book, if you want to step down that path check out how wool is collected for cloths or how meat gets to the grocery store."

...and of course we all know that keeping parrots as pets is as necessary to the human race as clothing or food.

If anything, YOU need to settle down.....man.