Hold the pet industry accountable
Just a little something off the top of my head. Let me know what ya think.
While I do not endorse the pet store industry, I also realize it is not possible to just tell people to stop buying animals from these resources. Unfortunately there is a powerful engine that will continue to drive the supply, IGNORANCE and MONEY.
It's all about money.
Why would a pet store worry about checking if their pets are going to good homes? Why should they care about the health of the pets they sell? It would only interfere with the sales and their profits.
Unless, the quality of their buyers was directly connected to the profit margins of the store. Then perhaps we could rely on these pet stores to check that their animals were going to a good home.
How could we accomplish giving the pet industry a conscience? If city government got involved we could hit these stores where they respond the most. In their wallet. If the city started a program that allowed ANYONE who purchased a dog from a store, that no longer wanted the dog, to turn their dog in (with receipt) and the selling store would then be fined for the costs of housing the animal until it could be adopted out. This would/should also cover dogs that can be proven to be the offspring of sold dogs, that are turned into city facilities.
These fines could also subsidize the caring for stray dogs looking for homes, and perhaps turn many of these city into NO-KILL shelters. Why not demand that the industry that is spurring on these tremendous costs to the city, and powering the horrific slaughter of innocent (and loyal) animals pay restitution to the public in the form of responsibility for their actions?
This would DRAMATICALLY reduce the profitability of irresponsibly selling animals, and dramatically reduce the profitability of selling animals in general.
In addition we can further clamp down on the profitability of irresponsible animal vendors by having the registration authority for pure breeds take on a more responsible role for the sake of animals they profess to caring so much about. It should not be possible for puppy mills to legitimately register their dogs with the AKC. The AKC owns much of the responsibility of placing high values on many of the most sought after breeds of dog. Papers from the AKC should represent more than just whether a dog is of pure blood within the lines of a breed. Official papers should represent a responsible breeding environment, and a responsible selling pipeline. Breeders should go through a quality control process that ensures they are responsible when it comes to the lives and health of their product. This may result in higher costs for getting a papered pure breed dog, and perhaps the government should subsidize the AKC to help establish and enforce guidelines.
Pet stores should only be able to obtain papered pets from registered breeders. Pet stores should be forced to sell to caring qualified pet owner customers to avoid fines from returned pets. This would also force the pet stores themselves to educate the public in order to better prepare a prospective customer.
The most effective way to change the pet industry is through the wallet and licensing rather than through legal actions and propaganda. Let's push for legislation that will save millions of animals, generate revenue in which to keep the process moving, and get off our soapboxes because the people who should be listening are deaf to the suffering of other entities, unless those entities can sue them.
While I do not endorse the pet store industry, I also realize it is not possible to just tell people to stop buying animals from these resources. Unfortunately there is a powerful engine that will continue to drive the supply, IGNORANCE and MONEY.
It's all about money.
Why would a pet store worry about checking if their pets are going to good homes? Why should they care about the health of the pets they sell? It would only interfere with the sales and their profits.
Unless, the quality of their buyers was directly connected to the profit margins of the store. Then perhaps we could rely on these pet stores to check that their animals were going to a good home.
How could we accomplish giving the pet industry a conscience? If city government got involved we could hit these stores where they respond the most. In their wallet. If the city started a program that allowed ANYONE who purchased a dog from a store, that no longer wanted the dog, to turn their dog in (with receipt) and the selling store would then be fined for the costs of housing the animal until it could be adopted out. This would/should also cover dogs that can be proven to be the offspring of sold dogs, that are turned into city facilities.
These fines could also subsidize the caring for stray dogs looking for homes, and perhaps turn many of these city into NO-KILL shelters. Why not demand that the industry that is spurring on these tremendous costs to the city, and powering the horrific slaughter of innocent (and loyal) animals pay restitution to the public in the form of responsibility for their actions?
This would DRAMATICALLY reduce the profitability of irresponsibly selling animals, and dramatically reduce the profitability of selling animals in general.
In addition we can further clamp down on the profitability of irresponsible animal vendors by having the registration authority for pure breeds take on a more responsible role for the sake of animals they profess to caring so much about. It should not be possible for puppy mills to legitimately register their dogs with the AKC. The AKC owns much of the responsibility of placing high values on many of the most sought after breeds of dog. Papers from the AKC should represent more than just whether a dog is of pure blood within the lines of a breed. Official papers should represent a responsible breeding environment, and a responsible selling pipeline. Breeders should go through a quality control process that ensures they are responsible when it comes to the lives and health of their product. This may result in higher costs for getting a papered pure breed dog, and perhaps the government should subsidize the AKC to help establish and enforce guidelines.
Pet stores should only be able to obtain papered pets from registered breeders. Pet stores should be forced to sell to caring qualified pet owner customers to avoid fines from returned pets. This would also force the pet stores themselves to educate the public in order to better prepare a prospective customer.
The most effective way to change the pet industry is through the wallet and licensing rather than through legal actions and propaganda. Let's push for legislation that will save millions of animals, generate revenue in which to keep the process moving, and get off our soapboxes because the people who should be listening are deaf to the suffering of other entities, unless those entities can sue them.
2 Comments:
Very interesting points -- thanks for posting. Pet Urn Provider
By
Pet Urn Mary, at 6:32 AM, May 02, 2008
Thank you!
I had forgotten I wrote this. Thank you for bringing it back into my virtual world.
We each live in a mental world too finite to realize our own ultimate responsibility. Me too. :-)
By
Jz., at 1:47 PM, May 02, 2008
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