RSPCA/SSPCA

D

dawn

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Has anyone ever had experience dealing with either of these charities (or similar in your area)? I bought my first newt from an aquarium and they weren't being kept in particularly good condition and I was given some bad advice on keeping them.

I have just been back at the same shop today to look at tanks and I noticed they now have THREE tanks full of what looks like Cynops pyrrhogaster or possibly even paramesotriton fuzhongensis (In my opinion they looked more like japanese FB but I'm no expert). They were being kept in small aquariums (only about 1 square foot) and there would be about 10 in each tank (maybe more). The tanks had gravel in the bottom but thats it (not that there would be much room for anything else). In one tank in particular, they looked in really bad condition. There was some bright blue stuff on a couple of them which was sticky and there was then some of the gravel stuck to them via this blue stuff. Any ideas what that might be? Some kind of medication perhaps?? There were a few with missing feet etc so I wondered if they were maybe treating them for open sores or something. In hindsight I should have stuck around and asked someone there.

Anyway to get to the point of this message, I have seen many people on this board complaining about similar conditions in various pet shops, aquariums and even grocery stores! So has anyone ever actually reported this? I want to know if the SSPCA (whom I would be reporting it to) or similar organisations take this kind of thing seriously? I know I am far too cynical but I am tempted to think that because they are not cute and furry and look good in publicity photos they wont have time to deal with it. I am also unsure about what they can even do. Fish always seem to be cramped in the shops because its only a temporary lodging so will this be viewed as ok because they will be sold soon? I dont think they will be sold that quickly anyway. we're talking about 30 animals in what is a pretty tight niche market. Anyone had experience with this and want to offer opinions?

Cheers
 
I believe they have to investigate every complaint that is made to them - at least the RSPCA do here in England.

I reported a store called "Pet Smart" to the RSPCA many years ago because of the awful conditions of the reptiles and amphibians (it's now "Pets at Home" after some re-branding). There were crowded, mixed species tanks, often with dead and rotting animals left untouched for days. They took the complaint seriously and contacted me to let me know that they were investigating. That chain of stores stopped selling herps soon after... I guess I wasn't the only one to complain. So, make a complaint. It can make a difference.
 
Yes i made a complaint about that store too! And i've reported others, they're always followed up here in the UK
 
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  • Katia Del Rio-Tsonis:
    sorry I am having a hard time trying to upload the pictures- I have them saved on my hard drive... any suggestions-the prompts here are not allowing for downloads that way as far as I can tell. Thanks
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    Katia Del Rio-Tsonis: sorry I am having a hard time trying to upload the pictures- I have them saved on my hard... +1
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