Abusive?

[concernedchick]

I visited a pet store the other day and they had chickens and finches in the same enclosure. the chickens were on the floor and the finches on perches. The perches covered the floor space entirely so the chickens were constantly underneath the finches. Is this animal cruelty? the chickens had no where to get away from falling feces!

 

[blucoondawg]

No it is not. Though it is not ideal I wouldn't say it's cruel. Chickens crap on other quite often which is far more unpleasant then a little finch turd lol

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

There is often quite a distance between what can be perceived as abuse and what is actually defined legally as abuse - and the legal definition varies widely between localities. Your best option to have this specific situation addressed and have answers for the locality the shop is in is to contact the appropriate authority (which will depend on location as pet retailers fall under different government offices in different places)

 

[Bill Matthews]

There is often quite a distance between what can be perceived as abuse and what is actually defined legally as abuse - and the legal definition varies widely between localities. Your best option to have this specific situation addressed and have answers for the locality the shop is in is to contact the appropriate authority (which will depend on location as pet retailers fall under different government offices in different places)

Legal animal abuse?....Who knows...Nasty...Disgusting... Unhealthy.......Actually pretty stupid from a business perspective. Please DO NOT call any cops or professional meddlers: Go directly to the business owner first and express your concerns in a courteous, non-hysterical manner.....He/she may be totally unaware of the implications of the situation both business wise and health wise for the chickens....Thanks for being concerned...

I visited a pet store the other day and they had chickens and finches in the same enclosure. the chickens were on the floor and the finches on perches. The perches covered the floor space entirely so the chickens were constantly underneath the finches. Is this animal cruelty? the chickens had no where to get away from falling feces!

 

[islandgirl82]

Unfortunately it's not uncommon for people who sell certain "products" to not always understand them...especially when it comes to live animals.

The shop owner/manager may be completely unaware that diseases and such may be passed from one species of bird to another and where one is immune the other may not be. To them, birds are birds and therefore can be housed together.

I agree that a civil/diplomatic approach to the owner/manager with correct information in regards to the health of both species should be the first step.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Legal animal abuse?....Who knows...Nasty...Disgusting... Unhealthy.......Actually pretty stupid from a business perspective. Please DO NOT call any cops or professional meddlers: Go directly to the business owner first and express your concerns in a courteous, non-hysterical manner.....He/she may be totally unaware of the implications of the situation both business wise and health wise for the chickens....Thanks for being concerned...

Your assumption seems to be that I was suggesting what I did in an effort to "call someone" on the shop owner - actually my thought process was quite the opposite. In situations like this, going straight to the source of correct legal information more often than not results in education of the concerned citizen as to what is/is not legally considered abuse and why the situation causing such alarm in their mind is not actionable on the part of any government "meddler". In such a situation hearing it directly from the place of authority with appropriate regulations to support the situation is/isn't actionable is more likely to be accepted by the concerned citizen than arguments to the contrary by others.

 

[Bill Matthews]

Your assumption seems to be that I was suggesting what I did in an effort to "call someone" on the shop owner - actually my thought process was quite the opposite. In situations like this, going straight to the source of correct legal information more often than not results in education of the concerned citizen as to what is/is not legally considered abuse and why the situation causing such alarm in their mind is not actionable on the part of any government "meddler". In such a situation hearing it directly from the place of authority with appropriate regulations to support the situation is/isn't actionable is more likely to be accepted by the concerned citizen than arguments to the contrary by others.

Sorry..I actually hit "Quote" on the wrong post and didn't know how to change it back....What you said makes perfect sense to me as well...No criticism intended...Take care and thanks for the additional comments.

 

[concernedchick]

I actually just wanted to know if anyone knew for sure if it counted as abuse. What i intend to do about it is not your concern. Or should i say I am not concerned by what you think i should do about it.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I visited a pet store the other day and they had chickens and finches in the same enclosure. the chickens were on the floor and the finches on perches. The perches covered the floor space entirely so the chickens were constantly underneath the finches. Is this animal cruelty? the chickens had no where to get away from falling feces!

Even if the chickens had a large area where there were no perches for the finches to perch on the chickens would still blissfully range under the finches, risking a blob of finch poop landing on their backs.

I agree that there may be some cross transmission of infectious diseases happening but the same is true regardless if the two species shared the same cage or not.

 

[aart]

Never heard of a pet store that has chickens.