Petsmart Cruelty to Animals

PetSmart may be smart about making money, but it's clueless when it comes to taking proper care of the animals it buys and sells by the millions.

The company's trade in live animals supports a mass-breeding industry just as cruel as—and less regulated than—the puppy mill industry; results in abysmal treatment of tiny, vulnerable beings; and ultimately leads to their overpopulation, homelessness, neglect, and suffering.

Take a closer look at PetSmart and please do not buy anything from PetSmart until it stops selling all animals.

What's Wrong with Petsmart?

The small animals sold at PetSmart cost the multibillion-dollar company next to nothing and make up a minuscule percentage of the company's total sales. So why does PetSmart buy them by the thousands only to leave them to die from disease and injury?

The answer is simple. Adorable hamsters are frequently bought on impulse when parents can't resist their child's pleading. The hamster may not cost much, but supplies add up quickly. Cages, bedding, food, and other paraphernalia amount to millions of dollars in annual profit.

PetSmart sells birds and other animals to people who often buy them on impulse and don't have a clue about how to care for them properly. Just as there are puppy mills, there are enormous bird factories and massive animal "suppliers," where breeders warehouse thousands of "breeding stock," whose babies are taken away and sold. Regulation of such massive facilities is often lax or non-existent, leaving the monitoring of breeders to the company itself—and leaving the animals to suffer the consequences.

PetSmart Store Investigation in Manchester, Connecticut, 2006-2007

For years, PetSmart has assured PETA that sick and injured animals in its stores are provided with veterinary care when they need it. They didn't take the company's word for it. During an undercover investigation at the PetSmart store in Manchester, Connecticut—a store that has a Banfield companion animal hospital right inside it and that PetSmart boasts of as having an "outstanding pet care team" and an "exceptional pet care record"—PETA documented more than 100 small animals, including hamsters, domestic rats, lizards, chinchillas, and birds, who were deprived of veterinary care and slowly dying in the store's back room, out of customers' sight.

PETA alerted PetSmart's corporate headquarters to the suffering of animals at its Manchester store while their investigator was working at the store undercover. An e-mail message they sent to PetSmart executive Bruce Richardson reported that there were "animals … routinely deprived of veterinary care [who] often suffer and die as a result." The message yielded nothing but a meaningless, dishonest reply from Richardson, in which he wrote: "This particular store has an outstanding pet care team and an exceptional pet care record. No pet that has required a vet has been deprived of that service."

The following are just two examples of the many disturbing entries from the PETA investigator's daily log:

* On October 23, 2006, a hamster in cage 10 in the sick room was found dead. This was one of the hamsters that I took to the vet on October 20, 2006, due to her having wet tail and crusty eyes. [The Pet Care Manager] had brought her back to the sick room before the vet could see her and told me that … she did not need to see the vet.
* On October 26, 2006,  the  supervisor brought out a long-haired hamster who had died in the sick room. She had been isolated on October 22 for wet tail, and the chart records showed her slow and painful death. Initially the hamster had diarrhea, but she continued to deteriorate and the night before she died the log notes stated, "eyes shut, hard, dying."

The PetSmart back room log notes document the suffering of animals who are "diagnosed" by store employees. Over a three-day period, three different supervisors—including the pet care manager—at the Manchester store wrote on a dying calico hamster's chart, "[Day 1, morning] wobbly, dehydrated, diarrhea … [Day 1, evening] very lethargic/dehydrated, regressing … [Day 2, morning] very wobbly, dehydrated … [Day 2, evening] dehydrated/getting hard, very lethargic … [Day 3, morning] dying, no meds given, can't swallow, regressed … [Day 3, evening] dead," but did not take the animal to a veterinarian even to have her put out of her misery.

The photos of some of the animals treated for diseases such as wet tail and upper respiratory infections show just how miserable they were as they languished, untreated, in PetSmart's custody.

PetSmart's billions mean nothing but penny-pinching shortcuts and misery for the little animals neglected by the company, which is clearly unwilling to or incapable of caring for animals—period. Please do not buy anything from PetSmart until it stops selling all animals. Buy your supplies online or at a store that does not sell animals.

PetSmart Investigation: Investigator's Log

Manchester, Connecticut Wednesday,

October 11, 2006

The reptile enclosure is disgusting. It's dirty, and all of the individual cages emit an almost unbearable stench of dead, rotting crickets. A1 said their district manager refuses to get a new enclosure because she thinks this one is fine.  She  agreed that it is dirty and hard to clean and also went on to say that they lose reptiles all the time because they can fit through some of the cracks. She said that when they had (somehow) opened up the whole thing last, they found a bunch of dead lizards and geckos on the very bottom.

Friday, October 13, 2006

I medicated, cleaned, and fed the animals in the sick and new arrivals rooms. There are shockingly unhealthy animals that need to be euthanized. There are 17 animals in total in the sick room. Most of the animals being treated have some sort of either diarrhea or wet tail. One hamster has extreme wet tail. Her left eye looks almost sealed shut. She is very shaky and can barely walk or even move. There is a very unhappy winter white hamster. She screams constantly anytime anyone comes in and just gets louder and angrier when you approach her cage. She has swollen paws and sores, and to me it seems like she also has possible mouth sores.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

A woman wanted one of the parakeets in the aviary. I watched K., a manager in training who used to work for PETCO, spend roughly 15 minutes trying to catch one of these birds. This is a terrible process. All the birds become extremely stressed and exhausted flying all around the glass enclosure. K. finally caught the parakeet the woman wanted by basically smashing it against the glass with the net. Many of these birds fall to the floor while trying to avoid the net. A woman and her three kids brought in a hamster to return because she was sneezing and seemed to have an infection. E. asked her if she wanted a different one, and the woman said that "three hamsters in five months is enough for me—I don't think I can take another one dying."

Monday, October 16, 2006

In the fridge, there were six dead hamsters and one unlabeled bag. In the sick room were two dead hamsters. One was a short-haired hamster with a really bad case of wet tail. Poor thing. You can see on the video how bad it was for her. Her sheet said she was placed in the sick room today. I found her lying dead next to her water dish. The other was a Chinese dwarf hamster. She had been back there since July 30, 2006. Under the diagnosis portion, this is what was written: "Bloated, crusted eyes, bloody nose, and going to vet." Well, obviously, they didn't get her to the vet fast enough. I found her lying dead under a piece of fake log in her cage.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

As I was carrying 10 dead animals (nine hamsters and one not labeled) from the fridge to
the vet clinic, J. (manager) approached me and said, "The hamster in tank  died (in the sick room). You know, the little one that you said needs a vet." I sighed and went back to the sick room (J. [manager] laughed). Sure enough, she had died. Mouth and eyes wide open, except the eye that was sealed shut. She looked terrible. I again went back to Banfield (the vet office in store) to give them the deceased. The woman (vet tech, I think) initially replied, "Great, more critters." As she was putting them in the freezer, she said, "Just put them in here with all the other PetSmart critters."

Friday, October 20, 2006

I took four animals to the vet at 9:05 a.m.: Cage 2—Short-haired hamster; conditions (also refer to chart): head-tilting and spinning in circles, also blood apparently spattered in cage, which I haven't seen yet, but it's written on her log sheet. Cage 5—Long-haired hamster, recently had been brought back to the sick room (isolated October 17); conditions (also refer to chart): extreme wet tail, very lethargic, eyes sealed shut. Cage 10—Honey hamster; conditions (also refer to chart): lethargic, very dehydrated, wet tail, URI, eyes crusted shut Cage 14—Winter white hamster; conditions (also refer to chart): fight wounds (front legs), possible mouth sores, VERY UNHAPPY, and screams every time anyone comes close to her cage. A2 came in at 1 and I advised her of the situation. She went to check on them and came back and told me that two of them did not need to see a vet—cages 10 and 14. I told her that they were very ill-looking this morning and seemed to be suffering quite a bit. She said that they are actually improving and to look at the notes on the chart. I told her I had looked at the notes on the chart, but that didn't change the fact that their current conditions were terrible. It is possible for them to get worse, even if they had previously been improving. She placed them back into the sick room without their ever being seen by the vet. The other two are still at the vet, and I haven't heard anything about their condition.
Saturday, October 21, 2006 Re the hamsters I took to the vet yesterday: Dr. B. JUST looked at the animals I took in BEFORE they opened yesterday. So, these animals in need of urgent medical attention just sat in their office for over 24 hours. A2 said what's scary is that this isn't even as bad as it's been, referring to the sick room.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Back by the sick room, I found charts for three animals sitting outside the door and these are the notes written on them: Black bear hamster (cage 3)—moved to the aviary this morning. Honey hamster (cage 10)—found dead this morning. Yes, yes, and yes, this was one of the hamsters I took to the vet on October 20 due to her having wet tail, URI, dehydration, crusty eyes, and inactive behavior. A2 brought her back to the sick room before the vet could see her and told me that since she was improving, she did not need to see the vet. WELL, OBVIOUSLY SHE DID!

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Animals just keep dying all the time, it's unbelievable. For the EXTREMELY short period of time (five minutes maximum) that I was in the sick room, I found a dead hamster. I also found a dead hamster in the new arrivals room. She was a tortoise-shell hamster. Cause of death unknown—she didn't seem to have wet tail. PetSmart is an operation of never-ending deaths; it's unbelievably disturbing.

Monday, November 6, 2006

In the sick room, I found five animals dead this morning: Cage 5—Short-haired hamster (tan), isolated November 5 with wet tail Cage 10—Panda hamster, isolated October 24 with wet tail Cage 11—Honey hamster, isolated October 26 with wet tail Cage 15—Two of the four hamsters were dead—one with wet tail, the other diarrhea. Both isolated at 8 a.m., found dead at 7 p.m. I tried to take the hamster in cage 2 to the vet, but the hamster wasn't there. Noted on her chart that she needs vet attention immediately. She was isolated October 23 for wet tail; she is very frail and weak. If she isn't taken to the vet first thing tomorrow, this is cruelty. I sadly doubt she makes it through the night, though. There needs to be something that can be done for these animals in situations like this. You can't just wait for them to die. They're suffering! The hamster in cage 6 also needs veterinary attention for wet tail, and I wrote this on her chart. Cage 16 didn't even have a dish for water. Fifteen dead animals in the fridge today—mostly hamsters and a bearded dragon.

Thursday, November 9, 2006

I asked A2 about the sick room, and she said that it's pretty much empty now. "We have four about to die," she said. She said the others have all died. I took a box of 15 dead hamsters that were in the fridge to the Banfield freezer. Lots of dead animals in there in various bags and boxes.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

I found the long-haired hamster (cage 16) in the fridge with the winter white (cage 1). They had both died on November 10. The long-haired hamster (cage 15) died this morning. A1 had written on her chart, "7:45 a.m.—barely breathing/unresponsive/dying," and that she refused her meds. "9:15 a.m.—dead."

Friday, November 17, 2006

In the sick room (see chart): Cage 1—Fancy rat Cage 5—Guinea pig Cage 9—Calico hamster (noted as deceased on the chart this morning; she was in the fridge) Cage 13—Robo hamster Cage 14—Winter white hamster still not taken to the vet, although on her chart is noted several times that her mouth sores are getting worse; she's still shaky—I noted again that she needs to see a vet.

Saturday, December 2, 2006

A2 said the bearded dragon in the NAR [new arrivals room] was force-fed today. "He's still doing like crap." I'm not sure that anyone has been trained to force-feed animals. I asked how many baby Russians survived (from the NAR), and she said, "Just one. The other two got wet tail, and the parents killed them. Well, actually, they killed one and broke the back of the other one."

Monday, December 18, 2006

I was talking with A2 about how the majority of birdcages we sell are way too small for any birds. She said they're good for travel, but "that's about it." A2 was in the sick room mocking Geiger (cage 14) as she was screaming, saying, "I hate you, I hate you all." I took some video of hamsters who were eating another hamster in the NAR. Not sure if the hamster died and was then eaten or if she had been eaten alive. She was still warm to the touch when I found her.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I asked A2 about what's going on with the finches (regarding the deceased). She has no clue. Referring to the one in the treatment room, "She started having seizures" and then died. She thinks that's what may have happened to the other, instead of drowning as they
had originally thought. A2 said the other finches are OK. All the baby owl finches died—she thinks that's because it gets so cold at night.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

I spoke with J. (employee), who transferred from the Washington store, about her thoughts and feelings toward the Manchester store, and she said that we always have an ongoing wet tail problem, we receive really small animals who always get sick, and she has found hamsters half-eaten by their cagemates. Her old store didn't have a vet. They would take their animals to a local vet who "didn't really know anything" about small animals or birds. They had problems with dying cockatiels, especially ones who needed to be hand-fed. Many of them would die. She hates how the store employees would have to diagnose the animals and then just guess medications that may or may not work. She said, "I like animals way too much for this. I don't like playing a vet at work, because I'm not a vet."

PetSmart Store Investigation in Manchester, Connecticut, 2006-2007
The animals shown in these photos were among hundreds who suffered—and many of them died—in Arizona and Connecticut PetSmart stores in a period of less than five months.

PETA's investigator took this honey hamster—who, for nearly a month, suffered in the store's back room from lethargy, dehydration, wet tail, and a respiratory infection—to the vet, but PetSmart's "pet care manager" returned the hamster to the back room before she could be examined. The hamster died three days after being denied veterinary care.

This panda hamster suffered from wet tail and died without receiving veterinary care.

During PETA's undercover investigation of PetSmart store #XXXX, this hamster was found suffering from wet tail and died without receiving veterinary care.

This hamster suffered from wet tail and died without receiving veterinary care.

PETA's investigator took this honey hamster who, for nearly a month, suffered in the store's back room from lethargy, dehydration, wet tail, and a respiratory infection to the vet, but PetSmart's “pet care manager” returned the hamster to the back room before she could be examined. The hamster died three days after being denied veterinary care.

Nanners, a parakeet purchased from PetSmart store #0429 in Geneva, Illinois, suffers from psittacosis;a disease that can be transmitted to humans and may be fatal;and has plucked out all his feathers.

Birds had to drink out of this filthy water bowl that was filled with debris and feathers at PetSmart store #1025 in Las Vegas.

After seeing this bird sleeping on the ground;a clear sign that the bird was in distress;a PetSmart employee at store #0476 in Chicago told a concerned customer not to worry because “they do it all the time” ; PetSmart employees, some of whom are caring and well-intentioned, are not given proper training on bird health and care, and birds suffer the consequences.

Leopard geckos one with an apparent nose injury were kept crowded together in a cage at store #0476 in Chicago.

Animals, especially small animals with delicate immune systems, often don't live past PetSmart's short two-week guarantee.

Jose, a large military macaw, had been living in PetSmart stores for more than a year; almost his entire life when this picture was taken. Even PetSmart admits that large birds like Jose need, at the very least, four hours of interaction daily;a requirement that's impossible to fulfill in a pet store setting.

The excessive bird waste caked on the back of this cage at PetSmart store #1463 in Garfield Heights, Ohio, shows that PetSmart's priority is making money, not taking care of its animals. Birds have extremely sensitive respiratory systems, and dirty living conditions can be deadly for them.

At PetSmart store #0521 in Fairlawn, Ohio, 29 parakeets were crammed together in a cage that wouldn't be adequate for even one bird, yet this is the norm in PetSmart stores across the country. Extreme crowding means that feces and urine will inevitably end up in the birds' food, which is kept below the perches. This can make birds sick

Gracie Smart, an African grey parrot purchased from PetSmart store #0642 in Knoxville, Tennessee, was left to pluck and mutilate herself until she bled before PetSmart discounted her 50 percent.

Birds From PetSmart May Kill You

Killer birds from PetSmart. It sounds like a reimagined version of Hitchcock's The Birds or maybe Troma's follow-up film to Poultrygeist, but it's a true, tragic story. A bird-loving family from Corpus Christi, Texas, reportedly lost their beloved father—and the daughter almost lost her life—after they both contracted psittacosis from a cockatiel whom they had purchased at PetSmart and named Peachy. Check out the Associated Press Article here if you don't want to take my word for it.

Peachy, who also died, allegedly from this "parrot fever," was bred at Rainbow World Exotics, a breeding mill that PETA recently investigated, where we found rampant abuse and neglect of small animals and exotic birds. Bird-breeding facilities such as Rainbow World Exotics are no different than puppy mills—they're massive animal factories that crank out birds with no regard for their health, happiness, or individual best interests. It doesn't just hurt the birds when unsanitary, inhumane conditions are the norm.

The good news is that this heroic and forever scarred family is now standing up to PetSmart and demanding an end to the sale of all birds.

Source: PETA