comparethemeerkats.com

[SilverSteno]

Originally Posted by Twiglet

As with everything, none of the above would ever become such a problem if only the people (breeders/shops/whatever) doing the selling bothered to ensure that the persons taking on the animal were capable of their upkeep.
THAT to me is the main issue.
Its got nothing to do whith what species can and cant be kept in private hands and everything to do with the right information being given out at the time.
I quite agree that animals such as meerkats (or any animal for that matter) should never be bought on a whim because there was a cute one on tv (and I saw first hand the result of finding nemo... If i EVER have to hear another person ask me if they can buy a nemo to go with their goldfish or live in their pond I'm in danger of spontaneous combustion....)
Anyway.. if the sellers did their job properly in the first place there would be far less risk of animals ending up in inexperienced or incapable hands.
Its up to them (in my opinion) to ensure that a potential buyer has already got a suitable enclosure, has done their research, has the capability to look after the animal etc etc.

Just my opinion.

Kat

I agree, unfortunately there are people out there that aren't responsible sellers that are just in it for the money and don't care what happens to the animal after it has left their hands so it is important that people know what is and isn't a suitable pet for them. The buyers themselves though do hold some of the blame as they should research the animal before they even consider buying it, but again that doesn't always happen, which is how people ended up with dead "nemo's" because they placed them in fresh water instead of salt and couldn't understand why their pretty little fish is floating upside down on the surface! There is fault on both side - there will always be the "I want" people who just want something fancy and don't do their research and there will always be the rougue traders that are happy to suppy their needs for whatever happens to be trendy at the time, and this doesn't just applies to pets! As long as there are people out there that will sell to any numpty that happens to come along there needs to be something to reduce the risks to animals that have become "trendy" by educating those that may consider that animal as a pet.

The key here is to make sure as many people are aware of what an animal needs before they even consider taking the next step. As the link in particular is aimed a children, it will hopefully make them think a lot more about the pets they want and the time and commitment animals need, and that will hopefully be something they will keep throughout adulthood.