What makes you mad???

[Neil N]

i went into a fish shop today, the kind that sells all kinds of livestock, rabbits mice birds etc. The were proudly telling a kid (about 10 or 11) that he couldent by a rabbit without and adult, pointing to the relevent sign the they had displayed up on the wall, great i though thats responsible retailing, so of i go to look at the fish, as you do, only to see one of the assistants finishing bagging up a dozen guppys, and passing them to a kid who couldent be more than 8 or 9.

I had to say something, so i pointed out the same sign to the assistant, only to be told that, and i quote, "they are only fish, they dont count as livestock"!!!!, so i go into nightmare customer mode :twisted: , and make a scene, the assistant, to whom i showed no mercy eventually admitted that he was only 14, only worked on Saturdays and knew nothing about fish.

I dont thnk the manager like it being pointed out to him that if "children" cant buy livestock, how the hell can it be ok for them to sell them???????

Just cos' fish arnt furry (well i had this neon one time with head fungus), and you cant pick then up by their ears.....this rant could go on for a while.

needless to say that assistant is now spending his saturdays putting dried dog food into little bags.

[fredzebra]

rodents are high maintenance with possible undesirable side effects. if someone buys 2 guppies, they wont multiply and run around nighborhoods digging holes, eating and ----ing. a parent wont go to a store to complain that they sold their kid some guppies.

[Neil N]

fred I wasent trying to say that rodents birds ect are not high maintenence, the point i was trying to make, is that fish shouldent be sold irrisponsibly too!!!!, i doubt that the parent would complain if the store sold their kid some guppies, or a baby oscar, or whatever, but the store have a responsibility to sell ALL livestock with care, just cos its a fish and not a fluffy bunny, does not make it ok to go against their own company policy.

now i'm not and expert on the USA, (i know it would not be a problem in the UK)but what if someone released a young Red Tail Catfish into a lake where it could survive, and decimate the local fish, ect. Would that be bettor or worse that mice doing whatever they do?

Ita all reletive

[finz]

I'm not an expert on the US either but I do know it is ilegal to release imported animals here as well - with a possible prison sentence if caught. I agree that buying fish, or any other pet requires a certain dedication to the care of the critter but I would have been seriously disappointed if my local shop had refused to sell me a fish when I was 9 yrs old because I didn't have a parent with me. I used to make frequent visits to the LFS at that age. At any rate it's a very thought provoking post. :?