Too cute for their own good

The number of animals surrendered to RSPCA shelters always surges over the festive season as pet owners find they can't care for their animals while on holidays, don't want their pets at home over Christmas or realise the enormous responsibility of owning a cat or dog that's been given them as a gift.

Nationwide last year, the RSPCA received 70,514 dogs at its pounds. Of those, 19,276 were rehomed but nearly 24,000 were put down.

Ten kittens on average are put down every day at the RSPCA.

Pet shops, meanwhile, play on our emotions by having the cutest little creatures tumbling over one another in their windows, enticing us to buy.

Critics claim the way puppies are bred and sold is a profit-driven, inhumane business that indirectly causes the destruction of more than 60,000 unwanted dogs a year.

However, the chief executive of the Pet Industry Association of Australia, Colin Bransgrove, has said pet shops are subject to controls and represent only 6 per cent of all dog and cat sales.

Late last year independent MP Clover Moore introduced a bill seeking to end pet shop sales of mammals.

So what do you think? Should pet shops stop selling mammals? Should there be rules governing the eligibility of people to own pets, just as there are rules governing adoption of human babies? Do people act too thoughtlessly in buying cute, cuddly pets on an impulse that they will regret and that the pets may pay for with their lives? Have your say here

See also: Where Do Puppies Come From?

Reference: http://www.smh.com.au

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