The UK’s biggest animal charities are putting animals up for adoption at chain store Pets At Home.
Charities such as the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs & Cats have gone into partnership with Pets At Home which has seen animals on display in stores, available for an ‘adoption fee’. The announcement comes after the charities years of campaigning against the sale of animals in pet shops.
The partnerships which see’s Cats Protection the latest to join up with Pets At Home, has been blasted by people within the pet industry and vet Mike Jessop has called it “an appalling idea.” He continues: “Animal welfare organisations have fought for years to keep dogs and cats out of pet shops and you no longer see puppies and kittens in shop windows, so this is a huge step backwards.”
In the last 18 months both the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs & Cats have opened re-homing centres with Pets At Home and Cats Protection is set to open its first re-homing centre next month. Pens will be provided by the store, fulfilling specifications set by the charity and the aforementioned ‘adoption fee’ will apply, allowing owners to return to pick up their new pet the next day, meaning its not purely an impulse buy.
Cats Protection forums have been inundated with volunteers having their say with concerns expressed about the welfare of the cats in a supermarket environment however Cats Protection has said the animals will be cared for accordingly. The charity says: “The cats will be safeguarded in the same way as the cats in our care; ensuring people cannot buy on impulse.”
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