Bloggers Challenge Petland to Cut Puppy Mill Ties
Animal advocates celebrated Petland Canada's announcement last month that it would team up with pet adoption agencies instead of puppy mills and phase out pet sales in all fifty of its stores.
But what about the Petland stores in the U.S.?
Because of the company's franchise structure, Petland USA is free to ignore their northern cousin's compassionate choice. And, so far, that's exactly what they've been doing. Mary Haight, who runs the Dancing Dog Blog, tried calling Petland headquarters to get their response to the announcement. She was shuffled to a voicemail box, where she got a recording about "the true agenda of animal rights groups," but never got a call back.
Refusing to be ignored, Mary started a petition on Change.org, which has been gathering hundreds of signatures. She's not stopping there. As a member of the amazing team of online animal activists at Be the Change for Animals, she put out a call for fellow animal lovers and bloggers to post about the campaign. Here's how you can get involved:
1) Sign and share the petition. Petland USA needs to hear from a lot of people (i.e. prospective customers) that ditching puppy mills and supporting adoption is what consumers are demanding these days.
2) If you have a blog, join Blog the Change tomorrow, Saturday, October 15th. BtC4Animals has a handy guide on how to get in on the blog-a-thon.
3) Spread the word across your social networks with a message like this one: Tell @Petland USA to Stop Selling Pets! Sign the Petition: http://chn.ge/qT2HNs #BTC4A #Change
4) Let Petland know how you feel about puppy mills on Facebook and Twitter.
Investigations have exposed that 95 percent of the puppies sold in Petland stores come from commercial breeders who treat their animals like crops -- stuck in appalling living conditions, often with inadequate vet care, deprived of exercise, socialization, and even protection from the elements.
The vast majority of Americans see their puppies as family, not merchandise. Plenty of pet stores, including major chains like Petsmart and PETCO, have proven that making the humane choice not to sell puppies and kittens is a profitable move.
And the trend toward swearing off puppy mills in favor of local adoption services is a growing one, not only among stores (including a Petland franchise in East Liberty, Pennsylvania), but also in cities like Toronto, El Paso, Albuquerque and West Hollywood, where commercial puppy and kitten sales are restricted or banned.
More than 20 blogs have signed on for Blog the Change tomorrow. The links to their posts will be added to the petition page, so stay tuned, visit their blogs, leave a friendly comment, and help get the word out about Mary's campaign calling on Petland to fire puppy mills.
Photo credit: Dancing Dog Blog
Stephanie Feldstein
is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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