Ok, so I read this a while ago and thought it was brill. I myself have been meaning to write to a store or two but have always never found the time or been a bit put off as my writing skills are not the best. When I saw this I thought how great it was. It can be personalised to what you need to write, whilst giving the basic outline. It is well writen and I hope it will be useful to others on here.
RandomWiktor a Moderator on a different website* gave me permission to re-post it for you guys to read and use. So thank you very much for this, it is much appreciated.
I must ask you to please not copy this anywhere else without first seeking permission from RandomWiktor. Though you are free to use the drafted letter to send to stores, do not re-post on another forum or thread without permission.
So here it is!
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"Dear Sir/Madam,
If you are receiving this letter, it is because one (or more) betta(s) (siamese fighting fish) was(were) recently purchased from your store as a rescue. He or she was suffering from one (or several) of the following ailments: fin rot, columnaris, ich, parasitic infection, emaciation, fin biting behavior, swim bladder disease, deformity, or disability. What's more, a test of the water parameters in the container the fish was sold in were found to have stressful or toxic levels of ammonia, nitrate and/or nitrite. While some health problems in fish are inevitable, the combination of the betta's symptoms and the conditions in which he/she was being kept suggest that husbandry while in the store was the primary culprit in the fish's illness. After all, it is well known among fish keepers that poor water quality is the leading cause of illness in fish and other aquatic animals.
Husbandry issues resulting in poor fish health are ethically unacceptable and financially irresponsible. As a business, you can surely see the value of keeping the animals you sell healthy. Stores with lower incidences of diseases will see a smaller die-off, a greater number of fish sold, a fewer number of fish returned (refunded), and a greater number of returning customers. Furthermore, fish who leave the store healthy are more likely to live long, productive life - which means more revenue in the form of aquarium products and future live animal purchases from the pleased customer.
Therefore, it would be in the best interest of your store to reconsider current husbandry practices, particularly the schedule on which your bettas are cleaned. Remember, although bettas are hardy, they are equally as affected by poor living conditions as other fish. Furthermore, though their air-breathing apparatus permits them to be kept in small containers prior to sale, they still produce sufficient waste to dramatically and rapidly lower the water quality if not cleaned frequently.
As a provider of fish to the community, your store has the obligation of setting the standard for fish care before the animals even reach their future homes. When fish are neglected in stores, customers will either react by refusing to shop at such businesses, or will mimic the same neglectful behavior, leading to a short, miserable life for the animal involved. Neither situation is preferable for the business, consumer, or fish itself. Thus, I urge you to please reevaluate your store's policy regarding betta husbandry to promote animal welfare, encourage purchase, decrease losses, attract customers, and further profit.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
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RandomWiktor then says in the original post
"You can personalize it as you feel fit for your individual rescue, noting the specific rescue case, giving actual values for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite (don't check? Start. The results will shock you.), or noting whether the fish lived or perished. I realize it seems a little cold since the focus is on money and business not on animal welfare, but I personally think this method is more effective since many individuals simply do not see fish as sentient beings, but ALL managers respond to the allmight dollar.
If more letters like this reach more managers, perhaps the cause for betta welfare will be taken more seriously."
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So I hope this helps others here!
Maddie xx
Ok I just read my post and it seems I can't post where this originaly came from. So if you want the link to the original post, please pm me
RandomWiktor a Moderator on a different website* gave me permission to re-post it for you guys to read and use. So thank you very much for this, it is much appreciated.
I must ask you to please not copy this anywhere else without first seeking permission from RandomWiktor. Though you are free to use the drafted letter to send to stores, do not re-post on another forum or thread without permission.
So here it is!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Dear Sir/Madam,
If you are receiving this letter, it is because one (or more) betta(s) (siamese fighting fish) was(were) recently purchased from your store as a rescue. He or she was suffering from one (or several) of the following ailments: fin rot, columnaris, ich, parasitic infection, emaciation, fin biting behavior, swim bladder disease, deformity, or disability. What's more, a test of the water parameters in the container the fish was sold in were found to have stressful or toxic levels of ammonia, nitrate and/or nitrite. While some health problems in fish are inevitable, the combination of the betta's symptoms and the conditions in which he/she was being kept suggest that husbandry while in the store was the primary culprit in the fish's illness. After all, it is well known among fish keepers that poor water quality is the leading cause of illness in fish and other aquatic animals.
Husbandry issues resulting in poor fish health are ethically unacceptable and financially irresponsible. As a business, you can surely see the value of keeping the animals you sell healthy. Stores with lower incidences of diseases will see a smaller die-off, a greater number of fish sold, a fewer number of fish returned (refunded), and a greater number of returning customers. Furthermore, fish who leave the store healthy are more likely to live long, productive life - which means more revenue in the form of aquarium products and future live animal purchases from the pleased customer.
Therefore, it would be in the best interest of your store to reconsider current husbandry practices, particularly the schedule on which your bettas are cleaned. Remember, although bettas are hardy, they are equally as affected by poor living conditions as other fish. Furthermore, though their air-breathing apparatus permits them to be kept in small containers prior to sale, they still produce sufficient waste to dramatically and rapidly lower the water quality if not cleaned frequently.
As a provider of fish to the community, your store has the obligation of setting the standard for fish care before the animals even reach their future homes. When fish are neglected in stores, customers will either react by refusing to shop at such businesses, or will mimic the same neglectful behavior, leading to a short, miserable life for the animal involved. Neither situation is preferable for the business, consumer, or fish itself. Thus, I urge you to please reevaluate your store's policy regarding betta husbandry to promote animal welfare, encourage purchase, decrease losses, attract customers, and further profit.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RandomWiktor then says in the original post
"You can personalize it as you feel fit for your individual rescue, noting the specific rescue case, giving actual values for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite (don't check? Start. The results will shock you.), or noting whether the fish lived or perished. I realize it seems a little cold since the focus is on money and business not on animal welfare, but I personally think this method is more effective since many individuals simply do not see fish as sentient beings, but ALL managers respond to the allmight dollar.
If more letters like this reach more managers, perhaps the cause for betta welfare will be taken more seriously."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I hope this helps others here!
Maddie xx
Ok I just read my post and it seems I can't post where this originaly came from. So if you want the link to the original post, please pm me
