AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!

[xxSarahxx]

Warning - this is a reasonably long post but please have the patience to read on as it's really important and I need your help!

I saw an awful thing today ...it was in a garden centre! Notcutts in Camberely have enlarged their aquatic section. I've not been there before so thought I'd take a look as it's 10 mintues away from here.
Well.....it was atrocious. There were no fish specialists there and it was SO obvious that they just didn't have a clue. Five dead male guppies in one tank.....they'd been there a while, obviously from the state of them and were so obvious to me I couldn't understand it till I mentioned it to one of the staff...
He said..."guppy...what's that then?"
I said..."do you have a specific person who works in the fish area"
He said "yes...me!"
AAAGH!
He said "is it cold water?"
I was getting stressed by now so said "NO TROPICAL!!!!"
He then looked at the tank full of angelfish (and I mean full) and said "I don't see any dead ones."
I said "try looking in the right tank!"
He said "but this is the tropical tank"
I should point out here there were the normal 10 odd large bin-type tanks for pond fish and about 50 tropical tanks!
I pointed them out to him and he said "oh.....what a sham...they're pretty" OH MY ***. I then looked more closely at the other tanks. Most were infected with something and there were so many dead fish. Then I turned around! This was the worst. In a very long thin tank was a ??? (sorry can't remember the name) He was a type of very large piranha but a herbivore?? It was HUGE!! far far far far far too big to be in a tank that size...let alone.... the fact he was sharing it with at least 7 other large fish..again was too horrified to look closer. They looked so depressed and so...ill!
I wanted to call the RSPCA or something. I couldn't believe it I really couldn't. It makes me so sad. So many fish are being killed due to idiots working in these shops. It was horrible. Just had to speak out and have a rant..sorry about all the 'he said' and 'I said' stuff but it was the only was I could clearly explain what was going on!
Honestly...though...what should I do? I mainly concerned about the big piranha-type as that whole tank was just so ill and he just obviously needs help. Any ideas?!? I'd take him if I had the room and the money.
I could really use some advice on this. I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow or the next day so you can see what I mean. I really think the whole place needs to shut down actually.
Sorry this is a long post but something needs to be done.

 

[Paul_MTS]

I'm not too sure who you contact really, I think it's the local council that issue the liecenses to sell fish so they might be worth a call.

thats pretty terrible though thats even worse than large chain stores. I found most garden centre ones are pretty good, always the let down though.

Speaking to the owner/manager may do some good.

 

[xxSarahxx]

Thanks...I'll try that. This was a real shock I have to admit...I've seen some tradegies before but this was obsurd.
As I said I'll try and get some pictures so you can see just ahow atrocious it is.
Thanks for the reply...anyone else got any more ideas?

 

[SirMinion]

Oh dear oh dear. This sort of thing is far too common.
If it was dogs or horses or even reptiles they'd never get away with it, but for some reason people seem to think that 'fish don't matter'

Oh, and the large plant eating 'pirahna' is called a 'Pacu'

 

[evofish]

pets at home in reading is just as bad i counted 6 dead tropical fish and the bala sharks were in the smallest tank they could have i mean this tank was no bigger than 12 inches around places like that are just in it for the money they dont give a toss about the fish and they seem to get away with it best thing we can do is not get any think from there!!

 

[rdd1952]

That's sad. I guess Notcutts in the US is spelled W-A-L-M-A-R-T.

 

[The-Wolf]

Hi Sarah
it is indeed the local council that issue the license to sell animals
you should report your findings to them.
I would also report it to the RSPCA, just as a back up.
tell the council that you have/intend to involove the RSPCA, this may make their investigation run a bit faster.

I'd also add any photographic evidence of the "state" things are in.

I hope never to see this myself personally, & I'm very sorry that you have.

 

[xxSarahxx]

Thank you all... it's just sheer incompetence and I can't save them all myself, though I would love too. I'm going to make some calls this afternoon and get things sorted.
Thanks SirMinion - it was a pacu! That rings a bell anyway..I'll google it!

 

[Vivienne]

Definitely the RSPCA - I'm sure they send people in pretty quickly when they know that animals are in distress and likely to die. They have the power to take animals away immediately if they're being mistreated - much easier with a dog or a cat that fish though.

You could ask to speak to the manager and try to tell them what they ought to be doing, but that's taking a huge amount on yourself, especially when the RSPCA will do this as a first step and try to get them to reform. Chances are they will have an easier job of it than you would too. I would report them, ask the RSPCA what they're going to do and then call the RSPCA back after a week or so to find out what the result was.

I remember someone on the forum saying they had an RSPCA inspector come to their house because someone had reported them because of the poor condition of their dog. In fact they had only just taken it in as a rescued animal from the vets because it was about to be put down - but it goes to show how quickly they act.

 

[imouse]

Edited coz this sites crap

 

[xxSarahxx]

You are all stars!! Thanks!

 

[JackDemp528]

I'm so sorry that you had to see that, and so sorry for the poor fish. Some stores just shouldn't have fish at all... It's so ridiculous. That poor pacu. But you should call the RSPCA, we have the ASPCA over here, and I work at a no kill SPCA, and we get cruelty calls everyday. None on fish yet, but on snakes and lizards and such. But see what the RSPCA says I'm sure they'll help you.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'd take photos ASAP. The RSPCA may come, but there's no point if the shop know and clear up before they come.

 

[emma12321]

The RSPCA won't give a ####, i have contacted them twice in the past about 2 different garden centres one which had dead rodents and rabbits as well as fish and they said they were short staffed and to call the environmental health. The environmental health took details and said they would send someone out to do a report then someone would let me know what was happening, they never got back to me and nothing has changed at either place. So who ever you report to, don't expect anything to happen.

I even offered to go and clean all the tanks and cages at one place but the degenerates who work there said that wasn't allowed. So i have just stopped going. From what people have said it is still the same.

Things like this make me so mad.

Emma

 

[nitro]

If it was dogs or horses or even reptiles they'd never get away with it, but for some reason people seem to think that 'fish don't matter'

Thats exactly what i think all the time!

It makes me angry..