Stop Live Animal Sales at Petco

Despite the numerous reports of negligence and animal abuse in Petco stores across the nation, people continue to purchase supplies from Petco and hence, support Petco’s continued mistreatment and sale of live animals. We, as animal lovers, will no longer contribute to that support.

We have seen Petco stores where birds, small animals, reptiles and aquatics are kept in filthy, overcrowded environments, often without adequate shelter, food, water, or mental stimulus for their species.

We have seen Petco stores where sexually mature rats and mice are housed in bins with the opposite sex because “Petco can’t guarantee the sex of a rodent”, resulting in the overpopulation of these small animals.

We have seen Petco stores where rats from “Fancy Rat” bins are sold as snake-food, with Petco associates giving the ultimate customer service; stunning the rats with blows to their heads so they may not injure the snakes while they are being eaten.

We have seen Petco employees leave sick or injured animals to suffer and die because the Petco designated veterinarians were not available to treat them. We have also heard testimonies from previous Petco employees who claim they were instructed to kill sick or injured animals by freezing them.

We have seen Petco employees sell cages, habitats, food, and accessories that are inappropriate for the type or size of the customer’s pet.

If Petco truly believes, as their Company Info claims, “We understand that our customers are pet lovers, not just pet owners. They view their pets as members of the family and believe they deserve the same level of care and comfort”, then Petco should well understand that we believe that each animal is a valuable living being, not a piece of merchandise.

Petco claims “We have instituted many policies and procedures intended to provide for the health and safety of the animals in our stores… each Petco employee is trained in animal care via an extensive and thorough series of videos regarding animals and their care…Educating prospective pet owners is the primary responsibility of our store associates”.

However good the intentions may have been, we have seen first-hand that Petco’s corporate policies and procedures are not adhered to at the local levels. For these reasons, we refuse to do any business with Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. or Petco.com until such time as the company ceases the sale of live animals entirely. We will purchase our pet supplies elsewhere.

We, the undersigned, agree to a complete boycott of Petco.