Why are pet stores allowed to have such a horribe quality of life for the animals?

They’re just a product. As long as it’s alive that’s all they need, even though their quality of life may be just a hair above survivable.

If its something that’s very important to you, you should have a talk with the store. Express them in a logical manner why you don’t support their store or their “products” and that you’ll give the same recommendation to anyone.

Hopefully a rational person, and especially business owner will understand the benefits of improving the conditions, and therefor improving sales > profits.

Or at least you might learn something about where the owners are coming from. Consumers have much more power then they realize. People need to remember that they work for us, we have the money and the free will.

Like Gandhi said, “We Must Be The Change We Wish To See”. The older I get the truer those words become.

I actually confronted the manager at Petsmart. I asked him why he had the fish in the tank when it was obviously not a near acceptable living environment for such a large fish. He told me i didn’t know what i was talking about. I said to him im sorry but your mistaken, i happen to have a huge interest in fish and do volunteer work at the aquarium. He was stubborn still telling me that the fish was fine. Long story short it ended with me telling him to fuck off. I’m just curious about how there isn’t laws preventing such a thing? Like do you need a special license to sell live animals and if so isn’t it regulated in such a way to make sure you aren’t well killing them? Or does just nobody care?

Pet stores are allowed because not enough people think and express themselves. There are laws against cruelty to animals. You could look up your local ASPCA.

Take it to the people. There are tons of user review communities, such as Yelp, which have a much more dramatic effect than people realize. Hopefully the manager has the brains to realize how powerfully damaging bad reviews can be.

And the mother of all: If you have a decent enough story (especially when news is slower), take it to your local media. TV news, local papers, etc. I think a story like this is something that anyone can sympathize with and even more importantly, parter of a larger, problematic trend.

Oh, and actually, too, Petsmart is a larger organization than the store you saw, and an abusive manager’s superior might likely want to do something to correct the problem. You could do all of the above…

Seems to me though that the news media angle could go in a random direction with unpredictable effects.

Because people buy from them

http://www.petsmart.com/helpdesk/index.jsp?display=store&subdisplay=contact&stillHaveQuestion=yes
You could try leaving them a comment, or call their toll-free number. I would even try the ASPCA, like Zaku so wisely suggested. Good Luck!

Gooch said it all-I do not even set foot in stores that either sell puppies/kittens, or don’t take proper care of birds/fish, etc. And I would never buy something from them – not even food, toys, or a shelf item. They get NONE of my business, & I tell them so. People who “rescue” puppies from pet shops (by buying them) are only condemning the pup’s mother to having to produce more, and emptying the cage so it can be filled with another pup. I know it’s difficult to see, which is why I don’t even go in those stores.