When you are walking through a pet store, do you ever wonder where the animals come from? What was their journey like before reaching the pet store in hopes of finding a new home? As a kid, my parents would take me to buy a new goldfish from the pet store all the time. It was always exciting picking out the new tank, the decorations to go inside, and finally the fish. I’d welcome them to their new home, give them a new name, and earn the responsibility of feeding them and cleaning the tank. Never did I wonder the cruelty my goldfish experienced before reaching its new home.

Today animals around the world are being tortured. Animals are captured from their habitats and shipped in cramped boxes. Most animals will die due to starvation, an illness, or pregnancy before reaching the store. Not only is the animals’ health being harmed in the process, so are their habitats. In order to attract the fish, fish collectors will spray cyanide into the reefs to stun the fish and make them easily accessible. The fish and the coral reef are poisoned, killing the reef and most fish due to the harmful chemicals. Is it really worth endangering so much of our wildlife just to keep them in our homes?

Most of the exotic animals that travel are denied water, food, and sometimes air. Handlers will even store them in soda bottles or pillowcases. The animals are treated as if they don’t have a life to lose. However, it is not even beneficial to bringing these exotic animals to the pet stores because most carry exotic diseases with them. The trek isn’t the only challenge these animals will have to face. Pet stores such as Petco, PetSmart, and Pet Supplies Plus would buy their animals from animal dealers. Holmes Farm is an animal dealer in Pennsylvania that sends supplies to stores. Holmes Farm supplied hamsters, rabbits, gerbils, chinchillas, ferrets, and other small animals to hundreds of pet stores across the eastern U.S. Holmes Farm is like a warehouse of animals where all experienced abuse where they were confined to small bins stacked upon each other. Many pet stores have severed ties with Holmes Farm after their exploitation. However, no pet stores should not be supporting this harmful treatment to the animals. They are fueling this trade and killing thousands of animals in the process.

For more information, check out these links:

https://investigations.peta.org/animals-gassed-frozen-petco-petsmart/ 

https://www.petakids.com/save-animals/pet-fish/  

https://www.petakids.com/save-animals/pet-stores/