Drop your dollars and cents for dogs and cats!

[Ridgeback]

G'day Folks,
Every year, not long after Xmas, the RSPCA begins a few long, hard months destroying cats and dogs, many of which were unwanted Xmas presents. And there are most likely a good number simply dumped in bushland, to spend a tough life surviving by killing our native reptiles and birds.
We've had a number of enquiries from parents wanting to get reptiles for their kids for Xmas, and to encourage this we've dropped the price of our PBD hatchlings by $15 for Xmas.
Make no mistake though, this isnt a subversive way of advertising...I'm asking everyone with hatchlings on the market to drop their prices for kids this Xmas.
Lets make it a Merry, Scaly, Xmas this year. It will get more kids into native reptiles, reduce the demand for cats that could end up feral, reduce the numbers of animals being destroyed and reduce the stress on the RSPCA staff who have to carry out that task.
Ridgeback

 

[borntobnude]

That's all well and good but unfortunately the same fate may be awaiting the reptiles too. I think that the message should be not to give someone the responsibility of pet / animal ownership for xmas .

Give a reptile licence and or the research material to go with it .

 

[Jazzz]

So your answer to reduce the euthanasia rate of domesticated animals is to drop the prices of reptiles...?

As someone who has fostered and volunteered with no kill shelters and with RSPCA for years I find this pretty uneducated.

as borntobenude says (lol) no pets should be given as Xmas presents as a surprise and dropping the price of an already reasonably priced animal with just harbour impulse buying and unprepared owners.

 

[DeadlyDanny80]

Should be mandatory that care sheets are provided along with the movement advice when selling reptiles...

 

[RedFox]

Animals are a big commitment and as such should not be given as gifts. People should be buying their kids books such as Danny Brown's new series or keeping and breeding Aussie pythons, not animals.

There are enough people who buy reptiles on impulse and either sell, neglect or release them. I would hate to see an increase in unwanted reptiles.

 

[dragondragon]

I think people should have a licence to buy cats and dogs .

 

[Darlyn]

Okay,so I'm pretty sure you mean well, but encouraging people to buy pet's as a gift is a bit out there.

 

[sd1981]

If anyone wants to buy me some reptiles as a gift, please PM me for a list of desired reptiles...

 

[Amelia]

It'd be nice if things were that simple Ridgeback but your logic is flawed.

On a slightly unrelated note many people seem to be under the misapprehension that a licensing system for the owners of dogs & cats would positively impact the amount of waste & neglect that occurs on a regular basis. Shame it didn't work for reptiles though huh?

 

[Darlyn]

It'd be nice if things were that simple Ridgeback but your logic is flawed.

On a slightly unrelated note many people seem to be under the misapprehension that a licensing system for the owners of dogs & cats would positively impact the amount of waste & neglect that occurs on a regular basis. Shame it didn't work for reptiles though huh?

Sorry, but what does that mean?

 

[Amelia]

Sorry, but what does that mean?

That having animals on license doesn't guarantee they'll be well cared for.

 

[disintegratus]

Animals as a rule should not be bought as gifts. My partner wanted us to get a snake for his 9yo. Even though it would live here permanently and he realistically it would be mine anyway (I would feed it and look after it along with the rest of them when his son is not here) I flat out refused. You can't teach a child responsibility for a pet when he only sees it once a fortnight, and I won't have a bar of getting him a pet to teach him responsibility with.
Once he's demonstrated that he's capable and passionate, then we can look at getting him his "own" pet. Until then he can make do with my zoo.

 

[thomasssss]

It'd be nice if things were that simple Ridgeback but your logic is flawed.

On a slightly unrelated note many people seem to be under the misapprehension that a licensing system for the owners of dogs & cats would positively impact the amount of waste & neglect that occurs on a regular basis. Shame it didn't work for reptiles though huh?

but was the licensing system for reptiles ever really implemented for that reason ? i thought it was to help prevent poaching and just so they could keep tabs on every one , they already keep tabs on dogs and cats with the registration system

on the original topic , its a terrible idea to do that bit like fighting fire with fire , borntobnudes right on the money with this one the message should be not to gift any sort of animal

 

[andynic07]

If anyone wants to buy me some reptiles as a gift, please PM me for a list of desired reptiles...

I think that I would need a list of people to pay for some of the reptiles on my wish list or one very generous person anyway.

As for the OP I am with the rest on this one, your heart may be in the right place but I don't think that this is the right strategy unfortunately.

 

[Ridgeback]

G'day Folks,
thanks to all who have jumped in with constructive comments. There have been a lot of really good points raised and I agree with a lot of what's been said. My original post was written from a certain point of view and was probably too light on detail to convey my thoughts at the time. My focus was on those who have been on our wait list, many from last season. I have had parent buyers who have waited, licence in hand, for 4-5 months for this season. Many have done handling courses. Some have been in regular contact in that time asking questions and fine tuning their enclosures. Some have brought their kids to our home to watch their clutches hatch, when the opportunity has been there. These are the buyers I had in mind when I wrote the OP.
So yes, fully agree with most of what has been said, but need to point out that the final decision on who goes home with one of our babies lies firmly in the hands of my wife and I, the same as it does for everyone on this forum. We always end up commenting on how sad it is to see them go, but have been totally comfortable with all of our buyers. And all of our buyers leave with a commitment from us that if their circumstances change at any time, we will take care of all rehousing requirements, no questions asked. This is because even though they go to live with new families, they will always be a part of our family and having allowed them to come into existence, our responsibility.
Regards,
Ridgeback