Rat Mills

[Nezumi]

This is horrible; however, I do have a question:

What do you tell the person who wants rats but doesn't have any breeders/rattery or rescue-able pets for miles/states? I think the closest rattery/rescue-able rats are at least 5/7/10 hours away. It just sucks to hear that "I support" this because I bought my rats at PetSmart. I have seen a lot worse at local pet stores. I understand PetCo and PetSmart are all about money... but I have no other way. However, I'll just walk away.

 

[lilspaz68]

Honestly, you would be surprised with rescue people and actual rat rescues how often they will organize a Rat Train (transport) to get you your rats. This forum banded together last year and we organized a Rat Train from Moncton, to Montreal, and from there it split and went to NY and to all parts of Ontario. Over 100 ratties were rehomed, 4 degus and a hamster. :thumbup:

Distance doesn't always have to be a huge obstacle, plus if you keep your eyes out, you will find "oops litters" from people who bought their own rats or need to rehome some perfectly wonderful rats through no fault of their own.

 

[SQ]

People involved in rat rescues will drive great distances to place rescue rats in good homes.
There are people who support rat rescue by helping to transport rescue rats. They belong to rat transport groups in North America, particularly in the USA.
So if you are approved to adopt by a rescue, transport can usually be arranged.

You can also keep an eye on craigslist and kijiji as there are usually rats being rehomed or dumped ... if not at the moment, then in the near future ... and these rats likely were from a pet store so you would be helping pet store rats without supporting the pet stores and mills.

Keep checking shelters as well. Many take in rats.

It is better to help rescue rats, but buying a rat or two from a pet store isn't likely to make much of a difference to them ... imo
It is when people buy the more expensive items such as food, toys, cages,. etc. from pet stores that they are really keeping the stores and their horrible practices in business.

 

[Nezumi]

I agree and understand, Spaz. I'm just thinking about the other guy who's like in Old Forrest, Nowhere... you know? I will be looking into a rattery in the future. I am fine having to travel a state or two in the future.

 

[Arkeld]

This is horrible; however, I do have a question:

What do you tell the person who wants rats but doesn't have any breeders/rattery or rescue-able pets for miles/states? I think the closest rattery/rescue-able rats are at least 5/7/10 hours away. It just sucks to hear that "I support" this because I bought my rats at PetSmart. I have seen a lot worse at local pet stores. I understand PetCo and PetSmart are all about money... but I have no other way. However, I'll just walk away.

If you have no other options, chose the lesser evil and buy at the best available store. The one that takes best care of their animals.

We shouldn´t delude ourselves into believing we can stop these practices altogether. It would take very major lobbying, and even then there´s no guarantee. Consider the seal hunt: despite massive lobbying, it still goes on. But we can try.

N.B. : I´m not for banning seal-hunting completely, but I´m in favour of more stringent controls and more humane methods.

 

[melon_mayhem]

God that makes me sick!

I dont know how people could be that cruel to those animals.... :sad3:

 

[Rattie Kisses]

That is so sad... :sad3:

 

[Tarah]

I have a question.. however it may be hard to answer.

Would anyone know aproximatley how many rats and other small animals such as rats come from mills each month or eadch year?

This figure would really help with a school project i'm working on.

 

[SQ]

oops hit the wrong button

 

[Arkeld]

I have a question.. however it may be hard to answer.

Would anyone know aproximatley how many rats and other small animals such as rats come from mills each month or eadch year?

This figure would really help with a school project i'm working on.

Too many, but it´s impossible to tell or even approximate, unless you get to the sources, i.e. the mill breeders, and outright ask them for their numbers. Or maybe go to a pet shop and get their figures, then multiply by an estimate of petshops. Which is unfair, of course, because not every petshop buys from mill breeders (even though many do).

Would breeders/shops with dubious track records answer such questions though? I doubt it.

 

[jorats]

In all of Canada... the numbers must be really up there.
For the Science Center here, they basically were a rat mill for their predatory animals. They have 3 breeders being bred back to back, having a litter every month. Some months the females would be so exhausted, their bodies would absorb the litter.
So say in one year, at least 24 rats a month, that would be 288 rats a year... and that's for a small science center.
I know that all Petsmarts use the same one for Ontario... I can spot a petsmart rat from anymore, pearls, cinnamon... lots of merles.

 

[lilspaz68]

I would say for the Petsmart "pet" rats there would be at least 10 a month...so thats 120 per year for one store minimum...BUT they also have hidden feeders out back and there's a lot more of those... I would guess about 300-400 per store total.

That is ONE store. :sad3:

http://brantford.flyerland.ca/storeloca ... dor_id=436

I counted 39 stores in Ontario alone, but this could have been before the Super Pet takeover. :cry:

So if we use 300 rats as our annual total per store you get 11,700 rats for Petsmarts in Ontario. Then there's PJ's Pet, etc :doh:

 

[Moon]

Petsmart doesn't have feeders!!! Do they? That's totally news to me.

Petco and PJs, yeah, feeders abound.

 

[Christie]

I didnt know that petsmart had feeders!!

 

[lilspaz68]

I didnt know that petsmart had feeders!!

Opps sorry, I was thinking of PJ's...they have feeders but tucked away out back so no one knows about them.

petsmart from what I understand doesn't. My bad.

 

[twitch]

not even the frozen ones? the pets unlimited has the live rats then the frozen feeders.

and 10 rats in a month seems really low to me. but it might be the area. the PU near me has at least that every week in the show cases and then they have bags and bags of frozen in the freezer. and that's the good PU. i was once in the one in fredericton, *shudders* there was probably easily over 10 per tiny bin and moms sitting on litters on top of that. they easily probably have over 30-40 in there at any one time. then we also have village pets here as well. they always have a ton of rats but its hard to estimate as they keep them tucked in back instead of on display (don't want to scare the customers away i was told...) and they also "breed" (aka don't separate genders) there own in the store as well.

really i think by the time you add up all the stores, their varying practices and how much they sell... well you're probably talking about well over 100,000+ per year from a mill. in fact i would not be at all surprised if the figure you came back with was even as high as the million range. there are a lot of stores and a lot of provinces in canada that sell rats. i think even alberta would sell frozen for lizards though rats cannot be sold as pets there.

 

[Moon]

I don't think Petsmart sells them frozen either. They sell mealworms and crickets, but I don't think they sell anything larger. I could be wrong though.

 

[jorats]

My Petsmart do sell Arctic Mice. bleh.

 

[eagle]

Sorry, but the Petsmarts in the states do sell frozen feeders. :sad3:

 

[Phyllis]

I feel the same if I were just wealthy I'd change so much of this, I cry over these things, & pray every day for them, they are innocent & pure, it is us humans who are cruel & evil, this is one of the main things about dying & going to heaven, no more pain, death or suffering, the one thing I pray, is that,I get to have all my pets in Heaven, I :flowers1: asked my Mom 2 days before she passed if she thought our pets would be in Heaven with us, her answer was wonderful, a slight smile & why Honey, it wouldn't be Heaven if they weren't!