Is there actually any reason why we should allow pet stores to sell animals at all? Even outside of radical animal rights, it seems like a breeding ground for terrible conditions for the animals.
In Ontario, an increasing number of pet stores house rescue pets on a temporary basis. At my local Pet Smart, there's a room of cats, 6 or 7. Mostly cohabitating. And every few days they bring half a dozen more. Those little floofs move fast, even the old ones.
Whenever I'm nearby I go in just to see the cats, but also to see all the "I've been adopted!" signs, that seem to make me feel just a bit better about things.
I certainly wouldn't call the conditions anything less than "acceptable". It's not a palace but they're not caged. They're in a maybe 8x8 room full of cat toys, blankets, water, food, gyms, etc.
Pets provide happiness for many people, and pet stores make more animals available as pets. Probably including options you wouldn't find at a shelter. And I personally don't see the harm.
(Disclaimer: I have never bought a pet at a pet store)
For those who didn't get the reference to Omelas (including myself) it appears to be to "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" 'a 1973 work of short philosophical fiction by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omelas, whose prosperity depends on the perpetual misery of a single child'. [0]
If you want to dive into the philosophy... What is the relevant counterfactual? If the alternative to animals living in conditions below your standards is no animals at all, (or worse conditions), then I find pet stores to be morally good. If the counterfactual is happily living animals, or a world that is better in some other way, then you have an argument for me. But does banning pet stores create a place for happy animals? Or does it have some other effect that makes something else better about the world?
Me and people I've known growing up have found many, many friends in foster homes, vet offices, shelters, the street. Where profit motive doesn't really exist...
One thing that worries me about pet stores is that there is very little incentive for them to be on the lookout for animal torturing sadists. I'm really not sure what the solution is to that.
Hmmm, I don't know. I imagine it's harder to sell an animal with a PTSD-affected personality, so from that perspective, they're incentivized not to harm animals. Did you have something in mind where harming the animal makes it easier to sell?
It's easier to sell animals to people who torture them to death and buy another one like they're a disposable toy. This is a real problem that shelters and breeders deal with.
It's also something people should be aware of when selling or giving away a pet on craigslist.
Whenever I'm nearby I go in just to see the cats, but also to see all the "I've been adopted!" signs, that seem to make me feel just a bit better about things.
I certainly wouldn't call the conditions anything less than "acceptable". It's not a palace but they're not caged. They're in a maybe 8x8 room full of cat toys, blankets, water, food, gyms, etc.