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Upon a visit to the Grande Prairie Pet Shop, GPARC was shocked and appalled by what they saw. The conditions were even worse then when they had previously visited. "The first thing you notice is the stench" said GPARC member, Kristina Quinn. The odor that you notice as soon as you walk into the store comes from the filthy cages that remain uncleaned for long periods of time. The following is a list of the sights GPARC staff found.
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Reptiles
*No bedding
*No hidey-holes, which are essensial to prevent stress(the reptile goes into it to hide from peering eyes of humans. It is a dark enclosure and even a margarine container would suffice.)
*A water dragon was spotted with a large water bowl(they use these for swimming, bathing, and resting), but rather than the recommended couple of inches, was only one centimeter in depth and was almost one-quarter full with feces(obviously not cleaned or replaces in quite some time)
*No heat lamp or mat. Reptiles are cold-blooded creatures and require artificial light in captivity.
Chinchillas
*While there were two chinchillas with sufficient conditions, one little fella sit, scared, in a separate cage, with an empty water bottle and and no hide, which serves the saem purpose as the reptile hide)
Fish
*Filthy aquariums
*Dieing fish are ignored by workers and not isolated, which makes them vulnerable to disease and attacks by other fish.
*Dead fish are left in the aquariums and often eaten by other fish.
Mice
Mice are the most neglected and mistreated animals in this store. In 15-gallon cages, there should be five or six mice and the maximum. However, the sight is horrendous.
*Between 35 and 65 mice are crammed together in each tank
*Pregnant and nursing mice are not isolated. This is a horrible fact, because when over-crowded, mothers become stressed and often eat and step on their babies.
*A tank with six mother mice in it, all nursing, do not have a towel covering the tank, which is also needed to prevent stress.
*Many water bottles were empty, and a few were spotted with black and green mould growing on the insides of the bottles.
*Three obviously-injured mice were left without treatment or special care; One with it's eye swollen shut, one with a gash behind it's ear (which, in the conditions, would get infected very soon), and one with it's nose bleeding. Once alerted, the store worker/owner replied with a casual "Oh, well, it was probably just a big mouse fight. Nothing to worry about." The GPARC investigator persisted, also adding that there was a small group of "pinkies"(day-old mice) at the back of the tank that were being stepped on and bitten by adult mice. The employee simply shrugged and walked away.
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Please call in or mail a complaint. The happiness, health, and maybe even lives of so many animals in this store are depending on us. When the public complains, the store loses business. Since the customers are the ones keeping the store up and running, the customers are the ones who can make a difference. The animals need you. Please recruit as many people as you can to write to the owner of the store explaining that they will no longer shop there until major changes are made.
Phone Number: (780) 532-8027
One other thing: It is so hard not to buy animals from this place, because you want to save them. But please refrain, for when you purchase items or adopt an animal from the Grande Prairie Pet Shop, you are supporting the abuse and neglect that takes place there. Please, for the animals' sake, write a letter, and get as many people as you can to do so, also. It takes only a few minutes to do this, but many lives can be improved and possibly even saved.
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