Say what you have to say. Create a petition for free.

145,370 petitions, 8,940,077 signatures and counting!


91 Supporters

Created by Alexa La Bruyere on January 23, 2005, 8:59 pm

There isn’t just an overpopulation crisis with dogs and cats. Ask any bird rescue society, and you’ll discover a tragedy of discarded, lonely, neurotic, mistreated pet shop birds – birds PETCO is still selling to anyone who comes along, and still paying suppliers to churn out in warehouses full of distressed parrots and their babies. There are also major problems with reptiles, and other small animals sold at PETCO–sold to people with good intentions, but who often haven’t any idea of the varied needs of these species. Worse, PETCO is failing to provide many of these animals with their basic needs before the sale!

The majority of animals sold at PETCO come from breeding mills. At PETA, we have received complaints from horrified employees at some of the bird, reptile, and other small animal breeding mills that ship to PETCO. Many animals arrive before they are weaned and become so sick from transport that they die along the way or shortly after they arrive at PETCO.






By their own account, PETCO employees are not properly trained to care for these animals and don’t know how to teach customers about the animals’ needs. We are told that employee training is so bad that baby birds have starved to death and other animals have been left for days at a time without food or water, languishing in filth. PETCO employees have even told us that animals are routinely put into freezers to die.

Birds, who are born to fly free in large flocks, are stuck alone in small cages where they develop psychotic and neurotic behaviors from trying to cope with loneliness and boredom. Non-native lizards are frequently placed in small cages that aren’t properly heated and fed diets completely wrong for them. Hamsters and mice, who easily fall ill, sometimes die soon after they are purchased.

The complaints pouring in to PETA show not only that PETCO’s own "guidelines" for in-store animal care aren’t being followed, but also that basic state anti-cruelty laws are often violated, with animals being deprived of the bare minimums required by law, including adequate food, water, veterinary care, and a humane death.

On April 2, 2002, a former PETCO employee told us that "Everything you wrote about PETCO is true. ... Ferrets were always coming in dehydrated, with diarrhea, and they didn’t know how to eat hard food, way too young to be away from their mothers. Rats and mice came in suffering from upper respiratory infections, and since they were ‘cheap’ animals, we weren’t allowed to take them to the vet; it was either sell them as is, or send them back to be destroyed. Birds constantly came in with growths on their legs or deformed beaks as a result of bad factory breeding."

PETA has been corresponding with PETCO about the mistreatment of animals in its stores for years, yet our efforts to open a constructive dialogue have failed. In fact, conditions have even deteriorated further since we first contacted PETCO. -From Petco
      


Discuss in Forums
Report Petition
View Statistics

Sign the Petition by signing the application below:

By filling out this form, you are agreeing to all the terms listed under this petition, and that you have read and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Petition Signatures


91 A week ago    C M: I support this petition.
90 2 weeks ago    Tayler P: I support this petition and blahblablaaaaah. I just went to Petco today, nothing seemed wrong with the little animals,(mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets) but the area they were housed in smelled like a dead animal. I really don't support pet stores that sell animals... ones that sell toys and food... fine! Otherwise, no. Go find a responsible breeder or go to a shelter, don't support these stores!
89 30 May 2008 - 14:35    Jim Lesko : they pass diseased animals off which caused my healthy 7 year old snake to die!!!
88 22 Apr 2008 - 23:19    Alayna :
87 20 Apr 2008 - 3:45    Brittany : NOT ONLY ARE THEY STUPID THEY LOST MY DOG WHEN IT WENT FOR A GROOMING CUT AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND
86 28 Nov 2007 - 3:40    Stephanie : Stop PETCO from destroying our animals! Please save them!
85 28 Nov 2007 - 2:14    Natalie : I quite recently got my very first pet. I was very happy, going to a local pet store to pick up a pair of rats. Only one rat there stood out from the rest, showing a very strong and affectionate personality. Sadly, she was the only female left and I dare not leave her without a companion. I drove to my local Petco to buy a rat there; surly Petco, a big name store, has healthy animals! I bought a very pretty tan rat. Ah, silly me... She was already on her way to death when I bought her. She had mites or lice (probably both) she was skinny and dehydrated from being too ill from her respiratory infection. (which, is a very common problem in rats... easily passable too. That's the problem with 'mill' style breeding) Three days later (I bought her on Saturday and I could not get a hold of a vet) I returned her sadly in the morning, being surprised she even made it through the night... The took her, telling me that they are going to take her to a doctor and they will call me if she gets better. They took my info and they refunded me. I went to the vet later that day, for a check up for my current rat. I told him my story and he WAS NOT SURPRISED. They get a lot of sick animals from Petco. I'm sorry. They may be small animals. But, what name is a store that's suppose to be
84 24 Nov 2007 - 3:15    Yen : Go die, Petco.
83 11 Nov 2007 - 5:55    artium : i support this. GO PETA GO!!!
82 8 Oct 2007 - 8:30    laura : i think we are killing animals for no reason at all and it not fair on the animals!!!!!!
81 3 Oct 2007 - 17:43    nicole :
80 25 Aug 2007 - 20:45    e : Dont forget about Petsmart the Treat them even worse
79 17 Aug 2007 - 6:48    kayleen :
78 19 Jul 2007 - 11:19    annette marie miller : This is absolutely out of this world, I go to petco and the ass’s say that you told them to not sell me anymore fish. .. Because petco killed all of mine? What the hell kind of business does you jerks run anyway? The truth should be completely the other way around petco should not be selling anyone toxic deadly fish to bring in the money., your petco is killing peoples fish that were long taken care of before your store came along now how dare you petco treat me like I stole something from the store., forbidden to bye fish there. I was told to go to the other pet store. Well the other pet store never did such a ****ty business sales. Ever! I never ever had any problems with them! Why can’t your store get their **** together and do their fuc..ng job? ****ty business workers. ****ty pet keeping . Well they are all still in training, even though that may work as the lamest excuse for the next year or two. Give me a freaking break! YOU NEED TO GET OUT YOUR POLLICY PAPERS READ THEM!!! YOU WROTE IT NOT ME> STICK TO IT > PETCO IS SO FALSLY ADVERTISING
77 28 Jun 2007 - 23:40    Rowan : I think it's terrible and sadistic how PETCO is treating animals.
76 27 Jun 2007 - 5:17    Alison Winarsky :
75 17 Jun 2007 - 10:23    Amanda : i wholeheartedly support this petition..i just got into the hobby of aquarium keeping about 3 months ago, since then ive been researching everything you can thank of and i found everything petco told me was wrong..i purchased over 10 fish from there when i first started my tank and they all preished from disease..thankfully, i still had my original survivors..their employees who claim they are the least bit knowledgable, are not. ive actually been there recently and had to help out a couple looking for fish..the employee was pissed off that i corrected 90% of his information..or BS. they want a sale, and thats what matters most today, ..isnt it.? too bad. : (
74 16 Jun 2007 - 23:49    Carina : I bought 2 mice from PETCO and they died within 12hrs. I'm so distressed.
73 5 Jun 2007 - 4:17    vanessa : i fully agree with this my older sister works in petco and I had an incident with a hamster that i adopted from there it had we tail and was left in a sick room to die whin it was perfectly healthy...i brought it back to petco because they provide vet servace wit the anmials you buy there. he was given a week to 2 weeks at the vet...then thaey sad he was a return and i had to pay for him. ipaid and then i waited and waited for news then i herd that the idiots lost the paper work telling whos pet was whos and that my anmial was either dead sold or going to be sold and i was told that i could come to the back room to see if my hamster was in there what i saw was shocking the cages were filthy and it was freeseing in therei found frank and said that thats my hamster but they said it was some one elses and i was welcome to take a hamster i was apualed at the thought of stealing someones pet then they brought out a gunni pig whos cage was covered in fecial matter and had no food or water...im glad to say i did get frank back and she is a healthy happy hamster after i bought her a second time...my sister also told me the mice would tear each others limbs apart and then eat them and that they would store the boddies of ick and dead anamals in the freezer to be re-used as reptile food...petco is a horrible place and im not just saying this becuase peta thinks there bad...petco is a horrible pet store...but peta sill is freakin crazy
72 23 Mar 2007 - 2:12    Ferretsleganinnewyork : Petco evil.Petsmart good.Ferrets legal.Yeah.
71 15 Mar 2007 - 21:31    Chad : I support this as well. I bought a hamster from there and it died within a week. No one told us anything about how to take care of the pet. After this happened, I bought another one, after being informed via the net of how to take care of a hamster. He just died today, not even a week after purchase. I took him back to petco yesterday and they were supposed to take him to the vet for free. I don't think they did that. I think they just let him die. Screw petco...
70 8 Mar 2007 - 14:54    Ken : I do not support this. I work for petco and am amazed at the effort that most employees go to care for these animals. We routinely spend $100 in vet bills for a sick hamster that sells for $9. I'm sure that you may find a particular store that may not provide quality animal care but over all the company goes to great lenths to provide for all our animals. The majority of the employees have a passion for animals and that is why they are there. The pay is not the reason. They love animals. Training is beyond basic. Perhaps it could be better but it is certainly more than enough to provide and promote quality care. As for fish care, yes the systems are large. This allows for more dilution of any potential problem. If the stores handle disease properly (uses an isolation kit to isoloate one tank from the system) then containment is assured. Beleave me the 210 gallon, very mature systems in the store are much healthier than most peoples 20 gallon they have at home. If you have a concern that the manager doesn't help you with then call the company hotline. I can assure you it is not taken lightly.
69 4 Mar 2007 - 19:46    Barbara Heilman : Petco has 12 aquariums PER FILTER which PROMOTES the spread of aquatic disease, they have got to stop this!
68 3 Mar 2007 - 8:26    Vick : If PETCO is having such trouble with birds then why don't they set them free? In my opinion, a bird doesn't need to be caged up. That's what they have wings for isn't it? Like I said, if they're having so much trouble, then they should just put them back in the wilderness where they truly belong. They have a much better chance of survival than with those disgraceful animal abusers!
67 25 Feb 2007 - 5:05    Lisa Savagian : let us stop the flo us petco and say no to petco and bvlablabla u ge the point
66 22 Feb 2007 - 6:01    anonymous : As an employee, i see the ferrets get fed insufficient marshall food (who by the way needs to stop BREEDING SO MANY FERRETS WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY WITHOUT HOMES), and not getting any attention. If you know anything about ferrets, especially young ones, they NEED ATTENTION from humans and they NEED VITAMINS AND NUTRIENTS. There are constantly ill animals who are not being treated properly with their medication. the person in charge of the small animals throws their job to people who are "underqualified" even though she is supposed to be the one caring for them. She doesn't. All of the animals are ALL over crowded and not taken care of.
65 21 Feb 2007 - 22:41    Amber : YAY!!!!!!!! NO PETCO...STUFF....
64 11 Feb 2007 - 9:39    Madeline : against my better judgment i purchased a dwarf hamster from petco. i wanted a new friend immediately and my local pet store wouldn't have any for a month. MY HAMSTER DIED IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER PURCHASE. the animals at petco always made me sad but i thought maybe if i bought one i could give it a better life, but it was too late, the hamster had been mistreated too much and was probably inbred and sick to begin with. PETCO MUST STOP SELLING ANIMALS.
63 5 Feb 2007 - 2:11    jacob cavallaro : i canot stand seeing 2 snakes die of hunger iv been studeing snakes when i got my python and i bet i know more about snakes than anyone at petco and im only 12!!!!!!!!!!!!
62 17 Jan 2007 - 4:11    animallover : I am a PetSmart employee and I hate Petco with a burning passion. Tryly, their associates, even "pet care" associates do not know what they are talking about and frequently give out wrong information. Our pet care training program is intense and rigorous, and if an employee at my store tried selling a sick animal, they would lose their job.
61 17 Dec 2006 - 4:10    Emily Jo : ive never heard of PETCO and ive never shopped there but i never will
60 17 Dec 2006 - 3:06    Amy Lee : Petco at Germantown, MD sold sick fish for me, which I didnt notice until one week later the disease killed two of my old fish. I contacted people at the store and they even didnt say sorry. The manager of the store told me that if i brought the dead fish to store, they would refund me. In my opinion, Petco must have so many fish die in one day that they dont care about their fish or their customer's fish anymore. Talking to them even upsetted me more.
59 4 Dec 2006 - 6:35    Fred : I just got back from Petco. the pumps in 12 fishtanks were not working. There must have been 50 dead and dying fish minimum. I made them aware of it and they did....nothing! they wouldn't even give me the fish to save them. I will spread the word against Petco. Never again
58 28 Nov 2006 - 3:44    Alexandra M. : The petition, I mean. Now, I'll stop shopping there.
57 28 Nov 2006 - 3:44    Alexandra Matejeski : I supoort this 100%
56 25 Nov 2006 - 1:35    Sherry Murphy : I have my own story as an employee and a consumer that goes to a Petco. I watch 3 snakes starve to death in a matter of 4 days and told the manager three different times before going over his head. We still go in to check on the animals but now are being hounded for he found out we called and turned him in. They do not need to carry animals, there are enough shelters, no-kill organizations, and breeders that will be happy to help you with an animal.
55 26 Apr 2006 - 0:31    Casey Skel : I hate Petco.
54 15 Apr 2006 - 23:36    Grace : I wrote to petco about the mis treatment that I witnessed. The over crowded gold fish barely able to swim around, stuck in a murky water- filled tank with about 25 dead fish! "Petco", is not where my pets will ever go!
53 10 Apr 2006 - 6:10    Jenee Foust : I support this petition. I just lost a lizard from petco to parasites, now all of my others are in jeopardy because I bought a diseased animal.
52 6 Apr 2006 - 0:35    Robert Hulsey : I support this petition.
51 22 Mar 2006 - 8:07    CM : I support this petition.
50 13 Mar 2006 - 12:20    Jim : All of you are nuts.
49 21 Feb 2006 - 6:11    Rebecca Wunders : I support this petition because I care for the animals. Anyone who doesn't know how to care for an animal should not be allowed to care for an animal!
48 18 Feb 2006 - 5:08    Dominic : I support this petition.
47 2 Feb 2006 - 4:47    Lindsay Northrup : I support this petition.
46 7 Jan 2006 - 10:02    Kimberly Cass : I support this petition.
45 28 Dec 2005 - 20:22    T. Crowe : I support this petition.
44 25 Dec 2005 - 5:07    Samantha Doepken : I support this petition.
43 22 Dec 2005 - 23:26    Kelly Lynn Ogrodnik : I support this petition.
42 22 Dec 2005 - 23:13    d washington : PLEASE STOP SELLING ANIMALS AND LET PEOPLE GO TO SHELTERS TO ADOPT. YOUR CONDITIONS **** AND PEOPLE ARE SO MISLED
view more