There is an intense and disproportionate trade in pets. Exhibited in shop windows, placed on promotion, there is nothing to remind potential buyers of the commitment and responsibilities involved in welcoming an animal into their home. One Voice is firmly opposed to these practices.
Behind the shop window
The puppies and kittens that are sold in these shops know nothing of how humans live. They have never heard a vacuum cleaner or pressure cooker. They do not know the noise of the street and have never heard children leaving a school in the evening. They have not been socialised correctly,–in that they have not been used to living alongside other species, children of different ages or elderly people. They do not learn to behave as a member of their species. For this they need humans… When they should be being raised with all the attention they need at this tender age, they are deprived of the possibility of becoming balanced adults and calm companions. Puppies and kittens are entitled to respect! They are not objects to be bought on a whim, between the loaf of bread and the newspaper. They are sensitive, living beings who should not be on a shelf. We cannot buy a life. A living being must be welcomed, its special nature must be respected. We must be fully aware of the responsibilities this will involve for many years to come.
Farms with a dubious pedigree
People who want to adopt an abandoned animal are often advised to go to a farm rather than a pet shop. Unfortunately, not all farms are perfect… There are those which have one or two breeds, do not have many dogs and therefore have a small number of litters a year. These favour quality of life and the emotional and sentimental balance of their residents. Of course, their purpose is to make profit, but they respect the animals and often remain in contact with their customers over the first year to make sure that the puppy or kitten is adapting properly. In other farms this is far from the case. Some advertise several dozen breeds. These are just pet shops under another name. The puppies are rarely born on these farms, most come from dubious sources in Eastern Europe. Under these difficult living conditions, animals are only considered in terms of profitability.
Mass produced
Worst of all, we are now seeing the development of real industrial dog and cat farms in France. Over and above unacceptable multi-breed farming, which are is unable to give animals the care they need, these are battery farms where animals are reproduced in mass with no regard for their well-being, for ethics or for common sense. Where is the respect for these female dogs and cats, obliged to produce young at a frenetic rate, and which are separated from their litters at a young age? What are the living conditions for these animals that are so attached to humans that we force to live in small cages, with no contact, no play, no going outside and, worst of all, with no possibility of creating attachments? Their moral distress cannot be imagined. What also can we say of the future for these beings born under these conditions? They will never be balanced adults. Mammals are not machines. Sensory deprivation, early separation from their mothers, lack of attachment, and other conditions… the list of traumas and their inevitable consequences, is a long one.
Act
One Voice is calling for an immediate stoppage in this activity that has no ethics whatsoever, has no respect and is not suited for these animals. We do not “produce” companions. In a broader sense, One Voice condemns this trade which is the cause of a great deal of behavioural problems, abandonment and euthanasia. It is closely monitoring this activity through various investigations and prosecutes for mistreatment sellers and breeders who neglect their animals.
A living being must be welcomed, its special nature must be respected. We must be fully aware of the responsibilities this will involve for many years to come.
