"...I was heartbroken seeing how much suffering these intelligent, affectionate animals were enduring at a store that claims that “animals always come first.”-Alicia Woempner
Having a small Dwarf Hamster companion bought from Petco, I often wondered where he came from. I recently did some research and became relieved that not only bought him, but saved him. When I first bought my hamster I was upset that I took him away from the rest of his friends, but after I did my research I realized that I saved him more than anything, giving him his own big space to himself and a ball to run around in freely once a day.
After looking up, "What does Petco do with the leftover hamsters" on Google, I found this article by Alicia Woempner on peta.org, http://www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/petco.... It didn't describe much of what happens to the actual hamsters that aren't bought, but after reading this, I don't even want to find out the answer to my initial question.
Please educate yourself and read what Woempner has to say through her own experiences. If you'd like to read more about what the pet trade is, and the cruelty done to animals please click on this link, it also has a very informative video on what exactly is done to the animals: http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/pet-trade/
A video of hamsters being frozen to death and more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zONwVQBvz_s
Animal cruelty is something that is completely overlooked in today's society, and should be brought to everyone's attention. As humans, we act like we care about all of these animals, but we never really think about what goes on behind closed doors. All we know is, we see a cute pet, we buy a cute pet. Please next time you think you want to get a cute small animal, consider going to a shelter and saving one first. Putting an end to this cruel pet trade starts at refusal to buy from these stores (whether it's an animal or supplies) in the first place.
Petco clearly doesn't care about the quality of life for the animals, it's just another corrupt corporation that ONLY cares about the money they get from the customers they are deceiving.
