Cape Town - The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWS SA) has expressed opposition to the sale of live animals at pet shops.
This comes after it unannounced inspections at a couple of “dubious” pet shops in Mitchells Plain last week.
Spokesperson for AWS SA Allan Perrins, said: “We inspected the pet shop allegedly selling chameleons and bird’s nests following a complaint from a concerned Mitchells Plain resident, and whilst in the area decided to conduct a pro-active inspection of a second pet shop where we noticed chickens belonging to the pet shop owner, dangerously free-roaming, on the road.
“We observed numerous animal husbandry issues at both pet shops. We insisted that some of the more pressing issues be remedied before our departure. Both owners complied and immediately attended to the shortcomings.
“Both owners were served written warnings for a variety of issues including pets being inhumanely confined, pets being kept in unhygienic and parasitic conditions, and the pet shop owner reportedly trading in indigenous wild animals more specifically chameleons was issued a formal caution to immediately cease with this unlawful practice,” he said.
Perrins encourages pet lovers to rather buy animals at local shelters.
“We suspect that there is a lot of ignorance around the trade in exotic pets and strongly condemn anyone who profits from buying and selling animals caught in the wild only to be kept in captivity where their needs are more often than not neglected.
“It is far too easy to open a pet shop and exploit animal lovers who think that by buying the pet they are saving it from a potential life of misery but that is disingenuous as it fuels the trade.
“We need to ignore temptation and stand united in our condemnation of anyone who puts profit before the welfare of an animal, and sadly for far too many pet shop owners and other animal traders profit takes precedence over how the animals are treated,” he added.
Chairperson of the Cape Animal Welfare Forum Karen de Klerk said: “Pet shop fallout comprises of small pets at pet shops, who have negligible caging facilities and are not kept in acceptable conditions within the pet shop itself.
“We talk about overcrowding, males and females put in together, which means when the public comes to purchase they end up buying a pregnant female or buying a breeding pair.
“Mixing animals like rabbits and guinea pigs is inappropriate and the saddest part of all of this is that the pet shops are refusing to regulate themselves, are refusing to take good advice and implement it and that is where the problem is.
“We would call for complete regulation of the pet industry and in terms of the new City of Cape Town by-law, pet shops are required to be regulated and registered with the city,” she said.