A local animal-rescue group is renewing the call for a ban on pet store sales of rabbits, hamsters and other small animals and rodents, citing concerns about overpopulation, careless ownership and poor living conditions.
“We don’t want to see these animals suffering in pet stores,” said Jeff Hildebrand, assistant director for foster and adoption group Popcorns and Binkies Rescue Haven.
For example, he said the group received photos from someone showing rabbits kept in aquariums with filthy bedding in one city store.
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Jeff and Cindy Hildebrand of Popcorns and Binkies Rescue Haven say the non-profit has reached capacity. They want to see pet stores banned from selling small animals.
He said the non-profit has reached capacity for taking in surrendered and abandoned pets.
“We have people coming to us every day saying, ‘Can you take my guinea pig? Can you take my rabbit? Can you take my hamsters?’ And we have to say no,” he said.
Many former pets are simply abandoned in outdoor spaces, he said. As they weren’t bred to live in that environment, some won’t survive.
And the ones that do are able to breed freely, risking overpopulation, he said.
Other Canadian cities have banned the sale of small animals because of similar concerns. Vancouver stopped stores from selling rabbits in 2017.
“If pet stores were limiting the numbers that people were able to purchase, or not bringing these animals in from exotic locations to live in peoples homes, that would be preferable,” said Winnipeg Humane Society CEO Jessica Miller, adding it would help reduce the strain on shelters and rescue groups.
Winnipeg’s Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw bans the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores, which are now working with the Humane Society to have rescued animals available for adoption.
Advocates pushing for a ban on exotic pets succeeded in having the city review the bylaw 2021, but the recommendations were rejected by council following pushback from owners and pet stores.
“Here we are two years later… and still contending with all of the same issues that we were dealing with before,” said Dr. Jonas Watson, co-owner of Grant Park Animal Hospital a vocal animal-welfare advocate.
Having no limits or restrictions on the purchase of small animals and rodents, combined with inadequate training of pet-store staff, means animals’ lives are often in the hands of ill-prepared owners, Watson said.
“It’s always the animals that come in last. It’s always animals that suffer in the end,” he said.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca