Extremely skinny axolotls in pet shop

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Biance

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I went to City Farmers Innaloo today and they had three extremely deathly looking axolotls for sale. I think one of them was actually dead. I was so shocked I didn't really know what to do, but I took some (quite crappy) pictures of them. They don't actually even convey truly how skinny they were, I can't believe it is even possible for an axolotl to be so skinny. Their torsos were thinner than my axolotl's legs.

Anyway, I just don't really know what to do - complain to the store, report them to the RSPCA, break in and steal them?

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Report them to the RSPCA asap that is animal neglect at its worst.
 
ALL OF THE ABOVE! I've never seen such a skinny Axie :(. Is this a pet shop they were in? Oh the poor little guys! Sneak them in some big fat juicy earthworms...stat!
 
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...85671-aussies-throw-book-them.html#post344087
Here's the relevant legislation- I'd be calling the RSPCA and Fair Trading, and immediately sending off a formal letter of complaint to the Manager of the store, the RSPCA and to Fair Trading. Make sure you quote the paragraph (e.g. 10.1) in both your phone calls and letter, and cite caudata for appropriate care standards.
Then make sure once you've taken action, you yourself do not go back into the store. Have a friend go in and take pics, and send them off to the RSPCA and Fair Trading every 48 hours after a five working day window for the store to fix the problem.
 
Omg, those poor things, and I thought the one I rescued from my local pet shop was bad. He'd make three of those. That's so sad. :'( I'd report them to the RSCPA, buy them as proof and keep the docket as proof that you bought them from there.
 
Sky Diamond said:
Omg, those poor things, and I thought the one I rescued from my local pet shop was bad. He'd make three of those. That's so sad. :'( I'd report them to the RSCPA, buy them as proof and keep the docket as proof that you bought them from there.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't support a store like this...:mad:
 
I have to agree with Jasper; it's no use buying them as the store will think "well people are still buying them, what do their conditions matter?". They will buy more, neglect more, the axolotls will find homes and they will still be earning their money. The best route of action is to report them to the local animal authorities, as they actually have the power to get something done. It's heartbreaking and so hard - I'd probably be standing there in tears. It may sound horrendous but sometimes I think it takes some casualties to give stores and people "in charge" of their care a kick up the a*se and a realization that they're not doing enough for the axolotl. This still doesn't mean the axolotls health is their main priority though. To them, its all about the money.
 
In this case, the legislation is clear (go Aussies :( ). This shop is breaking the law. Buying them won't help them in the long term and open a whole can of worms. The authorities have a responsibility to deal with the shop and ensure the axies are taken into appropriate care. Right now the best course of action is to keep the reporting going, maintain the chain of evidence (Sorry Sky, but in this case (And other cases of neglect in a retail/for profit situation) buying the axies won't work and will in fact destroy the chain of evidence- an RSPCA Welfare Officer needs to be their saviour) through pictures and documentation of when each phone call and letter was made/sent, and continued reporting until the situation is resolved and those poor little axies are taken into proper care. Harsh, yes. But the evidence chain is SO easy to corrupt these days, and the last thing we and they need is these ******* ******** to get off on a technicality.
 
Okay, so the RSPCA got back to me with:
"Hi Bianca
Thank you for your email.
I wish I could help you however they come under the jurisdiction of the Fisheries Department not us.
Please call them on 9432 8000.

Bruce Henderson
Communications Officer
RSPCA Western Australia (Inc.)"

They don't open until 8.30, so I've been trying to find the actual relevant legislation, because that link there only shows the NSW one, the WA one is just some general information. This is very difficult!

WA doesn't have a code of practice for pet shops like NSW has, these are the only codes of practice we have: Department of Agriculture and Food - Codes of Practice

The closest seems to be "code of practice for exhibited animals", but that's still not quite right, they could argue that because they are for sale this isn't their permanent home.

So now I'm going through the Animal Wefare Act 2002 (http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/pco/prod/FileStore.nsf/Documents/MRDocument:6321P/$FILE/AnimalWlfrAct2002_01-e0-04.pdf?OpenElement), which seems to be the only fallback, but it says:
"animal means —
(a) a live vertebrate; or
(b) a live invertebrate of a prescribed kind,
other than a human or a fish (as defined in the Fish Resources Management Act 1994); "

So I checked the Fish Resourced Management Act 1994 (http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/pco/prod/FileStore.nsf/Documents/MRDocument:23624P/$FILE/FishResMgtAct1994-04-c0-00.pdf?OpenElement) and it says:
"fish means an aquatic organism of any species (whether alive or dead) and includes —
(a) the eggs, spat, spawn, seeds, spores, fry, larva or other source of reproduction or offspring of an aquatic organism; and
(b) a part only of an aquatic organism (including the shell or tail); and
(c) live rock and live sand,
but does not include aquatic mammals, aquatic reptiles, aquatic birds, amphibians or (except in relation to Part 3 and Division 1 of Part 11) pearl oysters"

So it appears that the Animal Welfare Act does apply to axolotls, and I think the RSPCA guy is wrong, it isn't under the fisheries jurisdiction. But RSPCA hasn't opened yet either.
(I haven't found the actual useful information in the welfare act yet, but I have like 20 windows open and I was worried I was going to lose the quotes I wanted, so this post is mostly for me, haha)
 
RSPCA guy isn't answering his phone, but I sent him an email. I called the fisheries department, they put me through to their reporting line, and they put me through to the local fisheries office and they put me through to another person. THAT person was actually really helpful and took down heaps of information. He was really interested and I explained to him all about why axolotls shouldn't be on gravel and he said he wants to go down and have a look himself. He wasn't sure if axolotls fell under his jurisdiction or DEC, but if it wasn't him he'd pass it on to the correct people anyway. I don't see how it would be DEC, since axolotls aren't native, but he was very nice all the same. I'm still going to follow it up with RSPCA though, I feel sure that amphibians should be their territory.
 
The Animal Welfare Act 2002 is not very detailed, it's mostly about how to enforce the rules, not what they are. But there are still several ways that it could be used against a pet store:

Part 3 — Offences against animals
19. Cruelty to animals
(3) Without limiting subsection (1) a person in charge of an animal is cruel to an animal if the animal —
(a) is transported in a way that causes, or is likely to cause, it unnecessary harm;
(b) is confined, restrained or caught in a manner that —
(i) is prescribed; or
(ii) causes, or is likely to cause, it unnecessary harm; ​
(c) is worked, driven, ridden or otherwise used —
(i) when it is not fit to be so used or has been over used; or
(ii) in a manner that causes, or is likely to cause, it unnecessary harm;​
(d) is not provided with proper and sufficient food or water;
(e) is not provided with such shelter, shade or other protection from the elements as is reasonably necessary to ensure its welfare, safety and health;
(f) is abandoned, whether at the place where it is normally kept or elsewhere;
(g) is subjected to a prescribed surgical or similar operation, practice or activity;
(h) suffers harm which could be alleviated by the taking of reasonable steps;
(i) suffers harm as a result of a prescribed act being carried out on, or in relation to, it; or
(j) is, in any other way, caused unnecessary harm.​
http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/pco/prod/FileStore.nsf/Documents/MRDocument:6321P/$FILE/AnimalWlfrAct2002_01-e0-04.pdf?OpenElement
 
Never underestimate the value of bad press as a weapon against dodgy businesses!

In addition to all you are doing, I'd be writing letters to all the local newspapers and Council and sending along your photographic evidence. Be sure to include a pic of what a happy healthy Axie looks like in comparison so those who aren't familiar with them can see what a desperately bad condition these poor animals are in!
 
Biance, you've been AMAZING!! Fingers crossed all your work is going to give all the axies in WA pet shops a far better chance at a bright future free from abuse <3
 
Wow Biance! You are a Super-person! You are so awesome and doing right by these poor axies. Let as many people know as you can. If legislation won't do anything, a massive reduction in the store sales will force them to treat those axies right. Good Luck! Got my fingers crossed :frog:
 
You're doing a great job! It's fantastic that you've found people that are helpful and interested. Absolutely contact as much press as you can. Surely someone will be having a slow news day. AxieMama has it right; public shame will go far to create change!
 
On Wednesday I called the store to get their side of the situation, as I didn't ask them at the time. I spoke to a girl and told her I saw three axolotls on Friday and asked if they still had them and if they were for sale. She went to double check with someone, and then came back to tell me the two in the plant tank are sick and not for sale, but the one in the axolotl tank (with the pebbles) is for sale. I asked if he is in good health, and she said yes, he was from a different batch to the other ones, has been with them for a while and is very healthy. She then told me if I want an axolotl I need a 50L tank, good filtration, that they are cold water 'fish' and that they feed theirs meal worms and beef heart cubes.

Then, today, I got this reply from RSPCA:

Hi Bianca,

Thanks for your email regarding the Axolotls at City Farmers in Osborne Park. I went into the store on Tuesday to check out your complaint. I spoke to a gentleman called Ben who seemed very knowlegible on the subject. Unfortunately when we arrived there was only one axolotl in the tank. According to Ben there were three, but the other two had recently passed away due to a mouth disease.

The remaining axolotl was moved to the lower tank with the plants and the smaller gravel, this is when you would’ve seen him. He was only kept there for a day, before being moved to the tank above which contained larger stones. This is what we saw when we entered the store. The pebbles in this tank don’t pose any threat to him as far as I can tell, unlike the smaller stones in the tank below.

Ben seemed aware of the issues with axolotl’s swallowing smaller stones, so hopefully this won’t occur while he’s in charge of this section. I did mention that all staff should be aware of this issue, which he agreed with.

The axolotl remaining seemed small, but not too skinny. I’m guessing it’s a younger specimen. He did eat while we were in attendance so I’m not too concerned. He’s been unwell, but is back on the road to recovery.

I’m happy with the conditions I saw on Tuesday, but will be doing regular checks on this store in future.

Thanks again for your concern, hopefully this problem won’t occur again in the future.

Many thanks,
Natalie Foster
General Inspector
RSPCA Western Australia (Inc.)​


So what do we think? I assume she is saying the one on the dark gravel is the one who is on "larger stones", and is "small but not too skinny". I'm thinking that I want to go back to the store to be sure of this, and take better pictures of him, put together some proof that he is too skinny, and those stones are too small?
 
I've probably got axolotls half the length of him but twice the width - how is it not obvious he is seriously underweight? He doesn't even look particularly young to me.
 
Has anyone got a source that explains the ideal weight of axolotls?
 
Did you email them pictures of what healthy axolotls look like?
 
Okay, I replied with several sources talking about substrate size, and pictures of healthy axolotls. I also showed Dr Richmond Loh, an aquatic specialist vet, a picture of him and he said this:
"Your observation is correct that this animal is very thin. At Boronia Aquarium (Victoria), the axolotls are hand fed individually by specific staff members to ensure they get their daily nutritional requirements. I think it'll take a lot to bring this axolotl back to full health and I'd advise euthanasia and discontinuation of selling these animals if they are unable to feed them properly."

Sooo that sounds pretty good, hopefully the RSPCA change their mind on it.
 
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