[p_anda]

Well the problem is that - it's a shop. A living thing should never be in a shop. You can't ethically breed, keep and sell any animal if you do it just for the profit. Because then you don't care about the animals themselves, and that's what rodent mills are like, they don't care. And it's not just rodent mills who are the culprits, it's also hundreds if not thousands of private individuals who breed their pets for profit without paying any attention to their health and usually know nothing about caring for them properly, because they think it's a good way to make some extra cash on the side.

In my opinion demand for pet shop animals will never stop unless the attitude of the masses changes. There needs to be some kind of organisation that puts itself out there and brings this issue to the attention of the public, and tries to educate them. A charity can't usually do these things, because they don't have enough money or staff...I know there are some organisations like that, but for this to work, it would need to be literally 'shoved' in people's faces - i.e on the street in the form of public campaigns, on billboards, on the tv. I don't think the internet is enough, because you won't find them unless you search for them. Public opinion needs to change about small animals - most people still regard them as children's play things and disposable pets. Unless there is public uproar, the government won't do a rat's bum about it. Once the general view is towards better rodent welfare, the new laws would be more accepted&understood. Obviously we can't stop all rodent mills as we can't stop all puppy mills, but it certainly would be good to try.