Definitly! and I do think exploit is the right word. whether they are
breedign for profit, or THINK they coudl breed for profit- or they just want
to breed them for soem kind of "status" ("Look at me I have soooo many rare
(____insert rodent + variety_____). That animal wasnt bought/adopted to be
loved a a pet- but to fulfill someone's expectations for money or status.
We see this in rats also in the USA. Its not uncommon to be paying $25 - 50
for soem of the uncommon and hard to produce varieties. Which in turns
attracts the interest of those that woudl exploit them. (Heck, some manage
to do it without getting actual rare rats- I think ive told the story about
someone that cut the tails off of normal black rats to sell them as the rare
"manx" rat!). Its made me slightly uhm, more paranoid(???) than usual about
who I sell certain kinds of rats too. I put people through quite a bit now
before placing them, requiring a larger deposite, refferences, animal
registration and signed contracts.
In a way though, Im also pleased at the greater interest and higher prices
(not for any profit ones, I still end up spendign monre $ on food/cages
etc)... But because when peopel start realizing that soemoen paid $50 for a
critter, they are rather serious about that critter as a pet- I kinda hope
that more vets and general public will start seeing them as having "worth"
as a pet and not "
disposable" pets as so many still do (absolutely disgusting IMHO that a vet
would say "Why spend $30 ona vet visit for a $3 rat??? but they sadly do!
:( well maybe that will change....).
There are BTW exampel "interveiws" online and in books for adopting out
kittens and puppies- things you should ask interested buyers before placing
an animal. You may want to search for this online - not all the questiosn
apply to lil rodents- but its a good startign place for formulating the
questiosn you may want to ask interested people. I do soemthign like this
too- I just dont formally call it an interveiw, but I talk with peopel when
they come over and watc theminteract with the critters and stuff.
ag
myomorpha
ags il-001; rmfe 2000us-1
http://rmbe.tripod.com
Rat and Mouse Fanciers for Excellence
>From: Elizabeth Heckert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: Warning about "rarer" colours
>Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 14:13:41 -0500
>
>Well, I'm not sure if exploit was 100% the right word, but what *I'm*
>thinking of is people who are basically not interested in the best
>interest of the gerbs. Who want to have pups because they THINK they'll
>make money, just want cute babies, etc. people who basically haven't
>given it a lot of thought. Bad homes, basically. If they're more
>concerned over the color than them being healthy & nice then, something
>strange is going on.
>
>Elizabeth
>--
>Secretary of the American Gerbil Society
>http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Shores/8181/AGS/
>Breeder of healthy, colorful gerbils * Devoted Earth2 Fan
>* Visit http://www.voicenet.com/~heckercw/elsewhere/ *
>for more information about Earth2, my gerbils, Pomeranian & graphics
>Specializing in: grey agouti and polar fox gerbils - wide range of
>others too
>Proud Member of E2:EA, GCM, & AGS - Proud Pom-Mom to Foxy!
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