Okay, now humour me if you may.

Not long back the thread 'No Shop Sales' was posted based on an Australian piece of legislation. This thread created an outcry.

Not long after, the warning about what Wales wanted to achieve - in so far as banning primate keepers, not wanting to see shops sell animals, etc, etc, and not much of an outcry was placed on that, why?

Well because you considered that to be true, where as mine you thought was not. The Australian one was backed by the RSPCA and created by the RSPCA in the UK. The Welsh Assembly debate group l believe, is financed by the RSPCA in the UK.

Now, being so close to the new year, this poll and its questions are aimed at a two year advance upon us now, its a 'what if?' poll.

So let us say that from January 1st 2010, the speculation of 'No Shop Sales' is with us, and that all Retailers are now very seriously restricted in what they can and can not do. These shops are being classed as Officially Authorised Code of Practice Retailers. Problem is they are fewer in number than the year we are in [2007], and a goodly distance apart.

Let me know how seriously this [Much Fewer Retailers than now] would affect you and then explain why.

Also, please if you vote on the poll, please leave a view in the thread.

Thanks in advance for humouring me.

Rory Matier
Pro Keepers Lobby

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the only thing i use them for is food i could soon breed my own!

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Could possibly be a problem but not one that would be instantly recognised by me.

I don't tend to use retailers for anything other than fish food and basic supplies.

All that being said, if ithad of been 2 years ago I woul dhave faced a major problem but now I don't need a large supply of live food etc from shops.

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for me? small problems.. not vast ones...

tbh most of my visits to retailers are socials.. i rarely buy animals from "pet shops" as i can normally buy privately for less money.. and generally better stock..

livefood i tend to order online, or buy bulk..

about the only thing i use a retailer for regularly at the moment, is frozen chicks, and once i am up in lincs, with local large suppliers nearby, i doubt i will be putting much, if any, trade into retailers.

generally tho, i think it would cause a lot of problems for many.

N

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I have voted "small problems" - most of my animals come from brokers or private breeders rather than shops so obtaining livestock wouldnt change much.

Collecting equipment and livefood at short notice would be more of a problem, but this really depends on how internet sales are likely to be regulated, as I usually buy these things online if I have the time to wait for them. I cat imagine buying dry goods online would be problematic?

Really I would be more affected by stricter licensing of breeders, not shop-based retailers.

Without knowing precisely what "strict regulations" are likely to be put in place, whether this will impact on equipement availability or how internet retailers would be regulated it is difficult to predict how I would be affected. I realise we simply dont know all these things at the moment..

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As this is a 'what if' scenario, and as such is open to all kinds of issues alone.

It could be said that if they were recognised as code of practice units, then there would be mighty changes to the non retailers themselves also.

We must not forget that should action like this become active, then the likelyhood of breeders and suppliers unlicenced, would be subjected to the same code of practice issues, and as such may exist in also a much reduced format, if they are allowed to operate at all.

Whilst l saw in another thread about 'a disappointed service', it must be remembered that the relationship between retailers and keepers should be enriched. I was annoyed myself at that thread for ldid wonder if instead of just walking out in a temper, why the buyer did not unleash his temper at the store, instead of grumbling away on a forum.

With what was written the buyer would have had just cause to complain to the store about the service or lack of?

Our futures are at best uncertain in the keeping of exotic companion animals, but l do feel in my opinion and it is shared by many others, that restrictions are en route, and that this would focus on retailers, breeders, suppliers and basically sellers.

Just because retail may be restricted, this does not mean that all others would not be, rather the opposite l feel, they would either be forced to licence or they would be shut down!

Licenced, recognised, authorised would be the way forwards for the industry as a whole, for it indeed would buck the ideas up of many right across the board that are not providing the 'service package they should be'.

I think the relationships between all need to be greatly improved upon, for if we do not practice that now, then we will find ourselves in sticky circumstances much later.

Rory

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i voted small problems.

i'm not a hobbyist - i currently only have one baby boa, and had a royal before that. (snake wise anyway) I ended up here because i am an enthusiast for any animsl i own, and i wouldn't buy an animal from a pet shop if i could help it - all my animals, snake or otherwise are from private breeders, and ideally i think most animal trade should be that way. I tend to only buy the odd thing from pet shops - fish food, millet spray if im stuck, that kind of thing. I dont see it being a problem really for anyone who takes their animals seriously. For those that dont, its probably a big problem, but for animal welfare thats not necissarily a bad thing.

did that make any sense? hmm.

xx

I imagine even if all sales of live pet animals were stopped, shops would continue to sell dry goods, supplies, livefood, frozen food, etc. Plenty of shops do only sell supplies rather than live animals, so it's certainly not an impossible business plan.

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As a business owner, well it would be one mighty inconvenience for my business to fail especially as I haven't paid off my whopping great big loan yet..... but should it happen and be inevitable, I have enough qualifications personally to fall back into the boring drudgery of regular employment and just get on with my life.

As a hobbyist, it would make absolutely no difference to me if there were reptile shops locally or not, as I don't buy animals or equipment in shops anyway.

It's a callous way to look at it - but I would estimate a good 90% of the people who use the internet and forums like this are the "hobbyist" not the "single pet keeper", and have enough savvy to know that bricks and mortar shops can't compete with private breeders or online retailers.

If you were to poll the people who actually already still shop in reptile shops and don't consider themselves hobbyists, they just have 1 or 2 pets and like their individual pets, not reptile keeping as a whole.... you would find a vastly different answer.

I think this question is aimed at the wrong group, I would be suprised if anyone on these forums would be hugely inconvenienced by the loss of reptile shops unless they are actually financially entangled in one.

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i think it will cause major problems to those who have no access to the internet or not part of groups like this where pet food is easy to find and livestock breeders can be sourced in areas from internet access so a pet shop is the main way many get their essentials and advice regarding pet animals
the good shops spend years building up a customer base too so that couyld be affected if shops are not around no more....
i personally use shops to buy petfood when i run out or need equipment fast without thinking of postage costs and all that...

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