All Stores Big And Small!
Action In SLO!
Do we love animals? Or do we love to use them?
Do we want animals treated with compassion in our community? Or do we only want the species of animals that we personally care about treated with compassion?
We couldn't work against Petco and ignore the rest. We took a strong look at all of the stores in San Luis Obispo County. We took a strong look at the laws that govern these stores. We were pretty sure that we could prove that they consistently violated one of those laws, and that the law was not arbitrary. The law in question was California Penal Code: Animal Welfare Provisions §597. Cruelty to Animals Section l, (4) Take reasonable care to release for sale, trade or adoption only those pet animals which are free of diseases or injuries.
We went to every store in the county at least once. In some cases we went two or three times. We took notes of our findings. We took pictures. We purchased sick animals and took them to a veterinarian. The vet either wrote a letter regarding her findings or gave us a copy of the chart.
We have gone, or will go, to various law enforcement agencies to give them the evidence and have asked, or will ask, them to file charges with the District Attorney. We will cite 597l(4) as stated and in one case 597a and have or will explain that there are clear violations of this section of the California Penal Code.
Because law enforcement itself is sometimes arbitrary, enforcement of the law is open to judgement on the part of officials. The charges against all stores and the evidence we have gathered is fairly similar. This means that Pet Star/Pet Department is no more or less guilty than Petco. Can Animal Services go after one and not the other? Probably not. Animal Services is now officially married to Woods Humane as the latter plans to build their new facility on county land, next to Animal Services, sealed with a promise to accept some number of dogs from Animal Services every year. Woods Humane, and other humane orgs in bed with Animal Services, have accepted Petco's payment of big bucks for good will consideration. Taking all of this into consideration, can Animal Services go after this corporations' local outlet?
We expect some political smoke and mirrors, sounding fairly reasonable, that leads to absolutely no action from the cases that Animal Services grabs up. This belief was why we originally went to other law enforcement agencies. This belief was compounded by Animal Services complete lack of understanding of animals other than dogs and cats. Animals at the shelter not of the feline or canine family are sometimes housed incorrectly and fed incorrectly. The agency has had trouble identifying the sex of animals other than cats and dogs. It is not hard to think that if the agency is incapable of sexing an animal, feeding it correctly or housing it correctly, the same agency will have some difficulty identifying sick animals or animals treated inhumanely.
The San Luis Obispo Police Departement declined to accept the complaint. We are not going to bother with attempting to get the Sheriffs' Department to investigate cases in non incorporated areas. This is because Animal Services is a division of the Sheriffs' Department. We did file three different incidence reports with the Atascadero Police Department. We were told that the case was going to the District Attorney. That we had already done the investigation. This police department should be commended for this proactive and compassionate stand. You may write to them at :
Atascadero Police Department
5505 El Camino Real
Atascadero CA 93422
We will continue to turn to law enforcement agency other than Animal Services with the hope that they will take the issue to the District Attorney. Finally, if any of these cases reach the District Attorney what that office will do is still a question.
One of the big excuses that have been given to us regarding sick rats and mice is that these animals are "feeder animals." We ask if it is acceptable that such are ill and are not adequately treated for their illness. Secondly, we point out that leading reptile experts advice that no live food should be fed to any reptile except corn snakes who are fed "pinkies," the term used for newborns. Along with that advice, it is recommended that food be killed humanely, using c02, and in general offer healthy food animals for reptiles. Please see articles on Melissa Kaplans' site, Feeding Prekilled vs. Live Prey and Reptile Veterinarians and Zoo Reptile Curators on Feeding. There is no reason for pet stores to be selling anything but frozen food for reptiles.
This site will be updated regularly over the next few months. Details are available for all stores through the links below.
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