By Nick Engelfried
Few things are guaranteed to get an animal lover’s attention like an adorable puppy or kitten looking out of a pet store window. It’s no surprise many of us are drawn to stores selling cats and dogs–usually very young ones–with the promise of providing a furry companion to take home. However, there is a dark side to life at pet stores.

Something surprisingly few people realize is that the cats and dogs at most pet stores generally come directly from puppy or kitten mills–facilities whose goal is to mass-produce pets in order to make a profit, with little regard for the wellbeing of the animals in question, or for people who buy them not realizing they are participating in an industry based on exploitation.

The breeding mill to pet store pipeline is one of the biggest ethical problems with the pet store industry that animal lovers should be aware of. There are exceptions, and not all businesses selling pets are necessarily participating in cruelty. However, it’s an unavoidable fact that the incentive for companies to make a profit often conflicts with the needs of animals who require a safe, nurturing environment, access to healthy food, and veterinary care.

The basic business model for most pet stores involves enticing people to pay money–preferrably a lot of it–for cats, dogs, or other pets. This means the stores in question are interested in young animals who tend to sell quickly. Sometimes, these puppies and kittens are sold at exorbitant prices because of their status as “purebred,” a designation of little practical significance that is mainly used as a marketing ploy. Once animals are bought, the store has an incentive to replace them as quickly as possible with a fresh batch of adorable-looking kittens or puppies. Unfortunately, the cheapest way to do this is usually by sourcing from pet “mills.”

Puppy and kitten mills are all about quickly and cheaply producing as many cats and dogs as possible. As a consequence, animals in these facilities receive minimal care, often lacking access to nourishing food, adequate space, and treatment for sickness or injuries. Disease tends to run rampant in the close quarters these places provide, and many puppies and kittens are sick when they arrive at a pet store. Too many pet owners take home new animal companions without realizing they may already be ill.

However, animal mills aren’t just exploitive toward cats and dogs they raise and the people who purchase them–sometimes paying hundreds of dollars for a pet store puppy or kitten. They also worsen the pet population crisis and make it harder for animals abandoned in shelters to find a home. With many thousands of cats and dogs in need of loving families, it makes no sense to be breeding more animals just to sell them to unwitting consumers. Ethical pet stores source their animals from shelters, not mills.

Fortunately, more people and businesses are starting to recognize the problems with the traditional pet store model. PetSmart, a company founded in 1992, has pledged not to sell pets from puppy and kitten mills. Instead, PetSmart “adoption centers” partner with local animal shelters to bring cats and dogs in need of adoption into the store where they can find loving homes. You can tell these adoption centers are different partly because they offer animals of many different ages, not just the puppies and kittens who are likely to sell fastest.

For now, though, pet stores that partner with shelters are the exception, and the vast majority of cats and dogs sold by large chains come directly from mills. Nor does the problem end with puppies and kittens. Other animals commonly sold in pet stores–including rodents, reptiles, and fish–may also be bred in “mill”-like environments. And, while these facilities have received less public attention than puppy and kitten mills, they can be just as cruel.

Over the years, undercover investigations by animal rights groups and whistleblower accounts have revealed what appears to be a culture of sickening cruelty in “mills” that sell small mammals and reptiles. Reports of animals being kept in crowded, filthy cages, reptiles with severed limbs, and sick rodents “euthanized” by being put in a freezer to die of cold paint a grim picture of life for animals at these establishments. Major chains like PetCo and PetSmart have been accused of participating in this horror by supplying reptiles, rodents, rabbits, and other animals from these mills. Sadly, PetSmart’s admirable policy of only selling dogs and cats from shelters does not extend to these other species.

So, what should a responsible pet owner do? First of all, if you are looking for a new cat or dog you should always get one from a shelter–either directly from your local nonprofit shelter, or from a reputable “pet adoption center” like the ones for dogs and cats at PetSmart. Also remember, it’s not just puppies and kittens who make wonderful companions. Older cats and dogs can bring just as much joy to your home and are just as much in need of loving families.

Some other animals may also be adoptable (rabbits are the third-most common species to end up at shelters). If you have decided to get a pet rodent or reptile, shelter adoption may not be an option, so it is important to look for sellers who breed and raise animals ethically and don’t take wild animals from their habitat. Admittedly, verifying where these animals come from can be difficult, since companies’ own claims cannot always be taken at face value. The best advice is to do diligent research and only give your business to sellers verified as ethical by trusted, nonprofit third parties. If in doubt, don’t buy.

Bringing a new pet into your home can be one of the most rewarding experiences imagineable, as your adopted animal becomes a true member of the family. Pet ownership can also mean giving a better life to an animal abandoned to a shelter, who might otherwise never find a loving home.

The good news is it’s safe to say no animal lover wants to contribute to a cycle of cruelty and exploitation for profit–which is why ensuring you don’t buy from unethical pet stores is so very important–and with enough awareness of what it means to acquire animals responsibly, we can cut off business to stores that source from breeding mills. As responsible pet owners and lovers of animals, the solution to this problem is in our hands.

Photo credit: Pixabay

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Nick Engelfried Writes About Animals, the Environment, and Conservation for the ForceChange network