Still Going On Friday

Well, as whee have discussed countless times now since our piece on Banham Zoo keeping rabbits and guinea pigs together whee have been kept busy with reader suggestions of other places.

Some snuggles to start off a hard days piggy protecting!

Our first target (hehehe) farm whee spoke to about this dangerous practice was a farm in Kent called Christmas Tree Farm. I sent an email to the, just asking why they do it, would they consider changing the way they do things, and also for a quote. After receiving no response from them I found their number and Mummy gave them a call. The young lady she spoke to said that yes they do keep them together and have had no problems. However when Mummy asked for an official quote and asked why she had not received a response to her email the girl became flustered and said she would tell someone to email a quote before hanging up. Sadly they have still not provided a quote or told us whether they would consider changing the way they do things.

The next place whee spoke to was a suggestion by Mollie, so thank you for tipping us off! Drusilla’s Park. Mummy decided that calling and catching them off guard did seem to be a good idea this time.  Mummy was put through to Sue Woodgate, the Zoo and Education Manager there. The hooman explained her concerns and when it became clear they would not change a thing Mummy then asked for a quote. Ms Woodgate told us “We do separate them at night and have had no welfare issues. If you would like a further or more detailed quote you will have to write to or email us.” The hooman thanked Ms Woodgate for her time and said goodbye. The moment the phone was down whee began writing an email, again explaining the dangers of keeping rabbits and guinea pigs together and using the quote the RSPCA gave us to highlight the issues. At the end we, as she had suggested, asked for a quote. Sadly, the reply whee received was not quite what whee had hoped for. As whee cannot quote it here due to the contents of the message not being allowed to be printed elsewhere, all whee can say is they would not provide a quote or explanation to members of the public but say they have checks in place.

As whee have always said. Whee don’t doubt the care of the animals, whee doubt the reasons to put them at unnecessary risk. A risk that doesn’t have to be. Surely by saying they separate them at night they are acknowledging some sort of danger so making the separation fuller would not be so hard . . . would it?!

Our next place whee are going to try to speak to will be Pets at Home as whee understand that some of their stores do keep rabbits and guinea pigs in together. If you know one, please comment with specifically which one it is to help us! ^_^

Whee are hoping to follow a suggestion by Mummy pawrents and one of our readers and contact the national papers to see if they will investigate and do a story on just how many shops, farms, zoos and wildlife parks are going against RSPCA guidelines and not correctly educating their visitors.

As whee promised, whee are not giving up!

Your Intrepid Reporter and Animal Welfare Piggy

Buddy

xxxx

ps. If you have missed our previous Friday posts check out these links:

First post about Banham Zoo here

A post with a quote from the RSPCA on the dangers here

And a blog reader’s success proving that there are those who can change when they see a mistake here