As I said earlier...I am a serious advocate for hitting your local shelters and rescues to adopt any animal, from rats to dogs or cats and any other animal.  If you are not going to adopt, I advise a breeder with a good reputation.  This will not only assure you that your pet will be bred for its health and temperment, but you are also supporting a good cause. What cause? Well, a good breeder breeds to make a better rat. One that is more healthy. A good breeder will socialize your rats from the day they are born so this way they will not be skittish. As promised in a previous paragraph above,  I am in the process of trying to compile a decent list of breeders and rescues and shelters that is complete. Many sites offer this but none of them are complete....and that is my goal. Check back often for updates!

 

"Oh my gosh!! You do WHAT to us for our pelts?"

 

Why do we do this? Why do we feel the need to skin an animal ALIVE in order to have a luxurious mink coat?  Star Jones has a MINK KING SIZED BEDSPREAD!  How many little minks had to die for her lazy butt to have that on her bed?  Faux furs have been created in order to spare the lives of these little furry critters from minks to Chinchillas to the Fox and even rabbit fur.  Do you realize that Chins are slowly but surely close to becoming EXTINCT because of this cruel and UNNECESSARY MURDER of these animals?  This is not a third world country.  We do not need animal pelts to create garments to keep us warm. There is no excuse.  Wear your own skin. Leave the animals ALONE!

Just look at these face of this sweet Chinchilla.  How many of his kind had to die in order to make a coat for some snobby diva like Jennifer Lopez? How many Beaver had to die for the Queen of Englands foot soldiers that guard her palace in order to have real beaver fur to line their silly helmets and their uniform?  They can all use faux fur and they are made so good now that some faux fur can even fake out the experts!  Its disgusting and wrong. 

Hunting?  I wont even go there.  If I am against fur....why in the world would I condone hunting?  To me, hunting is a way to let the psychos to get murder out of their system by killing an innocent deer.  That deer didnt have a gun in his or her hand now did it? I would like to see a hunter go one and one with a BEAR and make sure he didnt have any weapons for protection.  No....hunting is not a sport.  Its simply a yearly outing for wanna be murderers to play pretend.   Click the link below to Hunting facts for more detailed information about hunting and what this so called sport is really about!

Now on a final note....I am sure that I may have stepped on many toes with this extended paragraph but remember...its solely based on my opinion and my opinion only.  I am an American. I am entitled to my own opinion and freedome of speech too.  If I offended any hunters, sorry, but your so called sport offends me.  At least my offense is humane and only done using a keyboard and a computer.  I didnt use a gun to slay a doe that may have babies waiting for her to come back to feed them. Instead she is being hauled away as a prize, hanging off the back of someones pick up truck! 

 

          

The endangered Chinchilla

Hermit crabs!

Look at those innocent eyes!

Did you ever go on vacation and in one of the million boardwalk shops, in the corner sits a tank loaded with seashells? Only difference is, these sea shells contain a tiny critter that resembles a spider. 

Hermit crabs, or land crabs as they are really called.

You give the clerk a few bucks, walk off with a tiny itty bitty wire cage and a sea sponge and your set.  The clerk assures you all you need to do is keep the sponge wet for the crab to get water and toss it bits of lettuce and carrots.
In a week, the poor hermit crab is dead.



Why? Well for starters, the crab not only requires a BOWL of water, it needs to be free from chlorine. The sponge is used mainly to add much needed humidity to the crabs living area but it is never to be a source of water for the crab.  The crab also requires sea salt water (Never table salt) deep substrate so it can bury itself, a handful of shells so it can change shells as needed, a place to hide, and of course, at least a 10 gal glass tank with a heating device. Air temp should be kept between 78 and 80 degrees and humidity around 80%.  Gauges are required for this.




Now, how many people that buy hermit crabs while on summer vacation were even aware of this?
MAYBE 5% of them were only because they did their homework first before buying the crab.
Petstores rarely meet the proper requirements for proper care of hermit crabs thus in turn, the consumer is totally unaware of the proper way to take care of them.  This in turn makes hermit crabs at the top of the list of small pets that are neglected and mistreated due to ignorance in how to properly care of them.

Another thing to keep in mind:  Shelling on the beach.  Do you know when you take home those interesting snail shells or crab shells from the beach, your taking away a potential home for a hermit crab?? These crabs NEED to protect their soft abdomen from daily elements and need shells for protection.  They are now being seen using whatever garbage they find, from soda pop bottle tops to broken beer bottles. 



Please refrain from removing these shells from the beach.  Think of the animal life that depend on you to keep their homes plentiful for them.
Here are some great links to learn more about proper hermit crab care!

Check out the  three links below for more info and what we can do about this barbaric process!  I am sorry but skinning an animal alive is wrong no matter how you look at it!

Our War on animals

DEATH FOR FASHION

The American Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals  

 

 The ASPCA is deeply committed to fighting cruelty to animals. There are many animals right in your own community that are being abused every single day. Find out the facts on how to prevent animal cruelty.  If you know of any animal that is being abused right now, you can report them to your local police department.  Animal cruelty is against the law. Animals are helpless and they need our help in order to save their lives and stop abuse. Find out about your states laws and get involved today.  If we all work together, we can make a difference in an animals life and stop abuse and neglect by putting someone that is abusing their animal behind bars!!

Please refer to this site for more information among many other resources on animals, pet care, adoption of homeless animals, animal poison control and much more.

  The American Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals:    Click here