Animal abuse by wal-mart?

[wapaksentra]

hey just got back from wal-mart and being really pissed off. went to the aquarium section looking at the fish and what i seen made me upset. They have the fish of the month deal. well the fish for this month is green puffers. Ok i didnt think they were carnivores. but they have seem to eaten the fins off of all the fish there in the tank with. Instantly i was pissed and told the customer service desk to put them in a tank by themselves due to there "appitite" <- (spelled wrong i know). And they said that they are ok where they are and the other fish will be fine. What can i do is this animal cruelty or what?

[Georgia Peach]

sadly, you cant do a thing accept refuse to purchase anything fish related from walmart and maybe one day they will get outa the fish business.

[crzyduchunt]

they probably never will get out. enough people go in there and see the "cute little fish" and diecide to buy one for their lil son/daughter/niece/nephew etc.

[wapaksentra]

it just pissed me off to watch the green puffers chase the dinosaur fish around and nip there fins. Not to mention most fish at wal-mart are sick and die within the week like the ones i bought. all but 1 female swordtail who i think is preg.

[ALFA WOLF]

AS I HAVE SIA DBEOFRE WALMART IS EVIL. I bet if someone stepped up and got sombody big to investigate the conditions without them knowing then almost all the walmarts would get busted for animal cruelty cause fish are animals.

[nero66]

yeah one time i went to get some stuff i past the fish section and fish really got me mad, there was a castle with like 9 dead fish crammed in it this pissed me off so much i put everything i wanted back and left

[MonknSharona]

On another board, I can't remember which, someone once posted how they managed to get their WalMart to no longer sell fish. I guess they were in a small town and had some sort of petition where most of the folks in the town signed it and they then went to the Wal Mart Home Office. I'm not sure of the details or anything but they said that there was some sort of investigation and WalMart ended up taking down their tanks.

If it's true, I suppose there is hope, with a lot of commitment and a lot of work.

I too saw the green puffers as the special this month; just saw them a couple days ago as a matter of fact. It really is very sad; not just for the puffers but all the fish in the tanks, the fish in the cups, the frogs in the cups, and the snails in the cups. I agree; WalMart is evil.

[flamingo]

ok, what's worse then walmart killing fish is all the people who bicker about it. Not trying to be mean, it's just i'm sick of all the posts on every forum im on lately lol. Like the one person who felt petco was bad so they were going to boycott it..whoopdedoo. Theyre practically a worldwide company, ya think your going to stop it by not buying 20 bucks worth of stuff a month?

All you can do is suggest some stuff to them and if they ignore you or say something just say hey, if you know so much about fish than why are they all dead? Dang, the littler pet stores out there are becoming more of a problem then walmart lately. Walmart has maybe 10 dead fish, well take 3 pet stores in the town you live or around where you live, times that by two for each store, and add it together. They usually kill like 20 times more fish than walmart does. Luckily the one here isn't bad, i;ll admit it too..I like walmart!

[Worldwide73]

One person can make a difference................

[msdolittle]

Wow Flam........thats a pretty pessimistic opinion. Margaret Mead once said, all it takes is a small group of concerned citizens to change the world.......and its very true. If one person boycotts, they spread the word to their friends......they boycott.......eventually miracles can happen. Don't take lightly the power that ONE person has.

And this sort of thread shouldn't make you mad, if you truely love animals then what Walmart and others like it do to animals should make you mad!!

[msdolittle]

And yes, if lots of people band together, their collective "20 bucks" can change the industry!!!!!

[lohachata]

if you can get enough people to e-mail wal-mart and complain;they might actually do something.either stop selling fish or hire somebody that is experienced.

[Ownager2004]

I have to agree with flaminghot. When it all comes down to it they are just fish. And if you complain about fish why dont you complain about other forms of animal cruelty like the poultry industry or animal testing. I bet you guys dont complain when your grilling your barbecue chicken.... Or the pollution your car makes... yada yada yada When people pick and choose what they are for and against in related areas it makes them a hypocrit.

Sorry if this sounds mean or negative, im not trying to disrespect anyone. Im just showing that there are a lot of things we have to learn to live with.

[msdolittle]

I don't think anyone is a hypocrite because they are more passionate about one area than another. I don't think fish are "just fish" either. They are still living creatures that feel pain. And, btw, I DO complain about MANY areas of animal abuse AND I've been PROACTIVE in my compaints of animal abuse so don't you sit there and pass judgment or act like you know what any of us do with our time.

[Ownager2004]

another thing ive learned to live with.

[Scy64]

Having read everyone else's posts, here's my two cents. =)


First off, I feel that fish are still living animals. I don't want to step on toes, but people who think of something as "just a fish", or "just a lizard", even "just a dog or cat", might want to consider if having these types of pets are right for them. It's unfair for an individual to allow an animal to suffer (fish, lizard, dog or whatever it is), so why should it suddenly ok for a large corperation to do the same thing? I feel that, individual or corperation, you MUST take care of the animals that you sell. It SHOULD be a standard. Of course, having said that, I can't continue on and tell you that I've boycotted my local Wal Mart because of it. I have actually purchased some fish from this Wal Mart (I've actually seen a drastic improvement in their fish tanks), and so far, both the fish I've bought (albino cory and pleco) have done just fine with no problems. Of course, there WERE some tanks with dead fish, and it did make me sad. But looking back, every pet store (chain and lfs) I've seen have had at LEAST one dead fish somewhere, in some tank. I think that's just part of what comes along with putting animals that originated in lakes, ponds, and oceans, in a tank of any size. Fish are a lot harder to diagnose and heal then a cat or a dog going to a vet for a checkup. They take more care, more guessing, and depending on the fish, more money. Some places like Walmart seem to have taken the profit on fish above the well-being of the animal, which isn't right. but to find a tank with sick but quarentined fish isn't all that uncommon.

Oh yes, and as for the dead fish problem someone mentioned, I encounted that at petco one day. I mentioned to them that the tanks had a bunch of dead fish, and there were a few I had wanted to buy but didn't because of the dead ones. I asked them who wants to buy live fish from a tank with dead fish? I'd noticed over the past month or so, not their fish healther with dead fish removed quickly, but they'd actually redone their fish section and made larger tanks (especially for their larger fish). All the fish looked healthier and happier, and all were for sale. Who knows how many people mentioned the fish problem to this store? Apparently it was enough to get something done about it, and so far, I've had nothing but luck with the fish I've gotten from them.

[msdolittle]

Well posted Scy.

[Ownager2004]

Id like to say that i garauntee my fish are healthier than your goldfish and two koi you have in home aquaria scy... I hope that tank is on the 150+ gallon size if you plan on even thinking about keeping those koi in a humane environment.

Just a thought

[msdolittle]

Originally Posted by Ownager2004

another thing ive learned to live with.

Specifically, what would that be?

[Caitlin Rose]

I think it is funny that people who are sick of complaints about animal cruelty came to this thread.... didn't they read the title? If you don't want to hear people "bickering" about it don't read what they write! That is the glory of freedom of choice. Also it is not hopeless there are things people can do, such as talk to the managment at the store, or go over them to send letters to the head office or what-have-you. While people talking about it on this forum may be irritating to some, spreading the word is another way of helping end the mistreatment. No it won't happen overnight, but some people will stop buying their stuff because of what they read hear so it does make a difference. I'm sure it won't close them down or anything, but I have known of other ways people have made a difference with big companys. In fact a Wal-mart story with a good ending happened because of grass roots work just like this. They were carrying a plant which in this area is very invasive and is everywhere (Pampas Grass) because it looks cool and enough people contacted the local one and the head office and got them to stop selling it! Also I personally prefer to learn through other people's bad experiences so I don't have to waste my time on a cr@ppy company... which I already don't buy from because of the way their employees are treated. Enough said!