The retail sale of live animals is a multimillion dollar industry; unfortunately, it is often the animals who really pay the price.
Like other retail industries, for a pet shop to be successful, costs associated with merchandise maintenance, storage, and loss must be kept to a minimum. But when the merchandise consists of living, feeling beings, concerns about animal welfare naturally arise.
This check list was designed as a quick guide to help animal advocates identify and document problems in pet shops, to aid in reporting conditions to law enforcement authorities, and to facilitate corrective action and routine inspections.
The colored cover page has more detailed instructions, then pp. 2–7 are the form you can print out in black & white and take with you to a pet store to help you identify and document problems. This will aid you in reporting what you find to your local Animal Control, SPCA, or Humane Society.
