Richard
Member
There've been many posts in here about fish/pet stores we've been to where we encountered staff that have absolutely no knowledge about the fish/animals being sold, and so they give advice on raising these living things we so love, off the top of their head.. many times we see fish and other animals being kept in the worst possible conditions for sale as well as getting the wrong advice on raising them, and we get angry at such inhumane treatment being meted out for profit.. and it's the same, whether it's in the U.S. or Canada, the U.K. or Australia or New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, the Philippines or Trinidad (hope I didn't leave anybody out), it's a harsh wake-up call almost every time we step foot through the doors of these establishments!
We Fishloreans need to wake-up, and realize that first off, with only a few exceptions, these stores are staffed by people who are being paid minimum wage and not necessarily the brightest sparks in the work force.. so what do we do?.. well besides making the strongest possible case to the management or head-office of these stores for more educating of staff and more humane conditions for their fish/ animals, or starting petitions and outright boycotts, we do what we can by buying the fish/animals, raising them in a healthy environment, and knowing we've at least saved some of them from a miserable existence or a short life.
There's a movie I once saw called 'Pay It Forward' with Kevin Spacey and that kid from 'Sixth Sense' which had quite an impact on how I live my life.. basically the premise of the movie was, while we may not be able to change all that's wrong with the world we live in, one small kindness we do could make a difference to someone else.. and if they do the same thing and pay it forward, in time it may make us all better people.. I think 'Pay It Forward' every time I go to these stores, because I know I'm dealing for the most part with underpaid and uneducated clerks, and I do a kindness by buying fish from them and placing them in as much of a healthy environment as possible with my knowledge and YOURS.
So let's do what we can to 'Pay It Forward' where our fish and other pets are concerned.. while we may not be able to make the world a better place for all animals, at least we can make a difference for those in our charge.
We Fishloreans need to wake-up, and realize that first off, with only a few exceptions, these stores are staffed by people who are being paid minimum wage and not necessarily the brightest sparks in the work force.. so what do we do?.. well besides making the strongest possible case to the management or head-office of these stores for more educating of staff and more humane conditions for their fish/ animals, or starting petitions and outright boycotts, we do what we can by buying the fish/animals, raising them in a healthy environment, and knowing we've at least saved some of them from a miserable existence or a short life.
There's a movie I once saw called 'Pay It Forward' with Kevin Spacey and that kid from 'Sixth Sense' which had quite an impact on how I live my life.. basically the premise of the movie was, while we may not be able to change all that's wrong with the world we live in, one small kindness we do could make a difference to someone else.. and if they do the same thing and pay it forward, in time it may make us all better people.. I think 'Pay It Forward' every time I go to these stores, because I know I'm dealing for the most part with underpaid and uneducated clerks, and I do a kindness by buying fish from them and placing them in as much of a healthy environment as possible with my knowledge and YOURS.
So let's do what we can to 'Pay It Forward' where our fish and other pets are concerned.. while we may not be able to make the world a better place for all animals, at least we can make a difference for those in our charge.