Pet shops network and the exotic animals market in Bulgaria I. INTRODUCTION The sale of live animals in pet shops is an emerging market in Bulgaria that has developed over the last fifteen years. Pet shops are starting to overtake temporary open markets as the central place for purchase of a pet or a companion animal. At the same time there has been an increase in the number of Bulgarian people with both the financial and emotional resources to invest in pets. As a result pet shops have strengthened their commercial position.
As the trade increases, pet shop owners must uphold their responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their clients. By definition the trade of live animals relates to the delivery of healthy animals, initial information for the necessary conditions for keeping of the animal, information about the legal obligations of the new owner. The quality of the service provided in the pet shops should be governed by a major part of the law, which directly concerns the animal owners, their health and also the health of the animals.
The pet shops trade links to the general process of distribution and sale of animals the control of which is responsibility of the state. The protected species that take part in the process are very vulnerable during their stay in pet shops because of their specific requirements. Some of them have travelled a long way from Asia, Africa of South America. Even when born outside of their natural habitat the requirements of each species do not change. If they are neglected the result is illness, stress or even death of the animal.
The pet shops that sell animals, usually offer a diverse selection of species at one establishment. Exotic animals are mixed with domesticated - cats, dogs, hamsters. This creates an increased risk that animals will suffer from distress and supposes an increased risk of zoonoses and zooantroponoses.
At present, there are no specific legislative provisions for keeping of animals in pet shops, although many problems exist in some establishments. The number of complaints from citizens to the responsible state agencies and to animal welfare organizations increases during the past years. IWNS receives on average one or two enquiries per week about how to help animals in shops, markets or private collections. For comparison two years ago such enquiries were received once a month or once every two months. They are caused by bad conditions and hygiene in pet shops and violation of the general principles for humane attitude towards the animals. Often the complaints are about keeping cats, dogs and birds in very limited space, dirty environments, about dead animals.
The Law on Veterinary Activity provides, for first time, a framework to govern the welfare of animals in pet shops; according to art. 176, Para 1 and 2 a requirement is laid for the elaboration of ordinance for sites on which animals are bred, kept and/or pets and companion animals are offered with commercial purpose.
The increasing interest and social concern about animals and the introduction of the issue in the Bulgarian legislation are very important for motivating a more thorough regulation of fair rules of live animals’ trade. Additionally the approaching EU membership of Bulgaria requires observation of the common legislation which also includes in certain regulations and directives animal protection and welfare issues.
The main purpose of the survey is to present data on the current situation regarding the welfare of non-domesticated animals kept at pet shops in Bulgaria, which can be used as a reference for elaboration of an Ordinance of Pet Shops stipulated in the Law on Veterinary Activity and also corresponding to the new EU requirements. The report pays close attention to the legal framework that regulates the pet trade in Bulgaria at the present moment.
The survey presents the opinion of pet shop owners and vets about the trade of animals in pet shops, about animal health issues, and evaluation of the effectiveness of legislative documents and bills. It also includes a part where the motivation for ownership and the level of knowledge of the animal needs is examined.
Apart from the survey data the text contains useful expert information about the specifics of keeping of wide variety of exotic animals which are now kept in the country as pets, but which little information is available on good husbandry. Survey objectives
This report presents a summary of state representative sociological survey of the pet shops’ condition around the country and the trade of exotic animals in them. The survey was executed by Fact Marketing Agency during June, July and August, 2006. The survey was ordered by Intimate with Nature Society and was financed by the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). RSPCA support the production by local organisations of similar surveys in different European countries aiming to encourage the adoption of better legislation to regulate the trade in exotic species and the welfare of exotic animals across Europe.
The realization of the survey was kindly supported by the National Veterinary Service. II. METHODOLOGY 2.1. Characteristics of survey
In order for a new and effective pet shop ordinance to be designed the current situation concerning this type of trade has to be clarified. For the survey, it was important to both collect the opinion of stakeholders and highlight what remained unseen to the outside observers. In relation to this, two methods were used for obtaining information: an observation, done by experts, of the conditions in the pet shops around the country and a research into the opinions of stakeholders on the trade of live animals conducted in pet shops. The term “exotic” is hard to define and usually depends on the context in which it is used. For the purposes of the present survey “exotic” applies to all animals that are not natural for Bulgaria and for which there are not well adopted practices of keeping, breeding and medical treatment or these practices are controversial. Groups of interest for the survey: • Owners of pet shops, selling live animals
• Veterinarians - vets with private practices and state inspectors
• Owners of exotic animals
• Pet shop staff The filed work was carried out during June, July and August, 2006. It covered ten randomly chosen cities. These were Varna, Kazanluk, Lovech, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Sliven, Stara Zagora, and Sofia. The survey was done mainly regional centers and big cities since preliminary research highlighted that the pet shop trade is mainly a city phenomenon. The total number of pet shops around the country is approximated because there is currently no uniform national register of pet shops which sell live animals, which leads to cases of unregistered shops. Preliminary information about the existing pet shops was collected trough municipal registers, registers of the regional veterinary services and local volunteers. The survey covers 81 shops selling live animals from approximately 320 for the whole country. The pet shops in the ten cities were chosen on centre - outskirts basis for comparative research on the results. The survey was conducted in two stages. The initial stage was completed during June and July, 2006. It included field work with developed methods for registration – included observation. This observation was done after preparation of tools for observation and description of the environment of the exotic animals held in pet shops and questions for evaluation of the knowledge of the sellers in the pet shops about the needs of the animals available for sale. The observation was carried out anonymously without previous notification of the pet shops staff. It was done by teams, each consisting of one animal expert with university degree in biology or biodiversity and one volunteer. The welfare of the animals in pet shops were assessed along the following criteria: space and equipment for keeping of the animals, temperature, food, water, hygiene, meeting of the specific social needs of different species, obvious signs of the health and condition of the animals. Additional criteria were used to observe the different types of animals, depending on their specific needs. Field workers also listed those exotic species on sale in each pet shop, to create a better picture of the animals available. During the observation a social experiment was done in 21 of the pet shops (, where the teams played the situation “client-vendor”. For the social experiment a guide was used for evaluation of the competence of the vendors.
The second stage of the survey was conducted during July and August, 2006, by FACT marketing. In this period a data on public opinion of stakeholders was collected which highlights the expectations from the specific ordinance of pet shops. The research covers veterinarians (51 respondents), owners of pet shops selling live animals (81respondents), and owners of exotic animals (156 respondents). The methods used for registration of the opinion were: • Individual standardized questionnaire for owners of pet shops, selling live animals
• Individual standardized questionnaire for owners of exotic animals (direct or trough Internet)
• Semi-standardized in-depth interview with vets with private practices or state vets. 2.2. Characteristics of researched groups A. Owners of pet shops 81 owners of pet shops selling live animals were interviewed in the cities: Varna, Kazanluk, Lovech, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Sliven, Stara Zagora, and Sofia. Most of them were involved in pet shops management for more than five years but for only one third the pet shop was the only source of income. The owners between 30 and 40 years old with a secondary education prevailed. Every third of the owners have college or higher education from which: engineering (33.3%), veterinary practice and zoology respectively 22% and 11%. The average income in the sector varies between 300 and 500 BGL.
Pet shop- main source of income
The average income level at the time of the survey was 350 BGL.
B. Owners of exotic pets
The owners of exotic animals in Bulgaria do not form a compact group. There is no database on ownership. Even though the pet shop trade increases its market share the main part of the trade of exotic animals is still done through breeding centers, acquaintances or via Internet.
Because of the lack of information about the real number of owners of such animals the acquired from these respondents’ results can be interpreted as existing tendencies which can influence future decisions on regulating certain aspects of animal care.
The access to exotic animals’ owners as respondents is very limited. For finding such respondents local people were used who searched trough acquaintances, vendors and owners of animals. An Internet version of the questionnaire was published on internet forums for exotic animals. The respondents who participated in the survey own at least one exotic pet no matter how the animal was acquired. 156 owners participated from Burgas, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vratsa, Montana, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Silistra and Sofia. The age of the owners was between 9 and 49 years old, almost half of them between 21 and 30 years old. The young age of the owners of exotic animals is related to the fact that the tendency for keeping such pets is relatively new but gets more and more popular in the last years. Another group of exotic animals’ lovers are the collectors, who have long experience with such animals and very often breed them and sell them.
The average income of exotic pets’ owners is above the country average. More than 47% of the people interviewed said that they get more than 500 BGL per month, and half of them fall into a group with monthly income of more than 800 BGL. C. Veterinarians 51 semi-standardized in depth interviews were done. 36 of them were with vets with private practice.
Individual semi-standardized interviews were done with state vets (inspectors) from the Regional Veterinary Services (RVS) of Varna, Kazanluk, Lovech, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Sliven, and Stara Zagora. III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF ANIMAL TRADE – Pet shops and exotic animals The main Laws which regulate the trade of animals in the Republic of Bulgaria are: 1. Law on Veterinary Activity (LVA) (Published: State Gazette, issue 87, from November 11, 2005, enforced May 1, 2006, changes: issue 30/2006, changes: issue 31/2006, changes: issue 55/2006 ) 2. Law on the Biological Diversity (LBD) (Published: State Gazette, issue 77, from August 9, 2002, changes and supplements: issue 88, changes: issue 105/2005, changes: issue 29, 30, 34/2006) The LVA regulates the import, the export and the transit passing of animals in Bulgaria. The Act defines the requirements for breeding, protection and humane attitude and also the prevention of unnecessary suffering of animals. The major parts of the Law protecting the animals and their natural needs and defining the human responsibilities towards the animals are: Art. 149. (1) Animals are kept and used in a manner corresponding to their development and purpose which is conformable with their physiological and ethological specifics. Art.150. (1) Owners and keepers of animals, and the manager of animal breeding establishments: 1. Care of the animals and do not abandon them;
2. Provide for each animal depending on its species, age and breed:
a) Place to live and conditions relevant to its needs;
b) The space needed and freedom to move;
c) Enough quantity of food and water;
d) Free access to feeding and watering places;
e) Proper microclimate;
f) Regular prophylactic veterinarian service and immediate veterinarian treatment in case of illness or injury;
g) Proper vessels for food and water, placed in a manner which does not allow their contamination and limits to the maximum the aggressive competition between the animals;
3. Take all the measures necessary to prevent the escape of animals. (2) The keepers of animals check their condition at least once a day. Art. 151. It is forbidden to:
1. Cause fear, injury, pain, suffering, stress or death of animals with the exclusion of the cases stipulated in art. 159, Para. 3, art. 160, Para. 2 and art. 179, Para. 3 or in case of self-defence;
Organizations for protection of animals and Associations of animal breeders cooperate with the National Veterinary Service for the control under art. 7 Para 1, Item 4. Art. 171. Owners or managers of zoos, pet shops or other animal breeding establishments and the organizers of activities with participation of animals provide conditions for keeping of the rules for protection and humane attitude. Art. 176. (1). Owners of establishments where companion animals are kept bred and/or offered with commercial purpose, of pensions, pounds or shelters for animals register them after the provisions of art. 137. A certificate for completed course for protection and humane attitude towards the animals is annexed to the application. (2) The requirements concerning the establishments after Para. 1 are settled by an ordinance of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. The minimum requirement for protection, humane attitude during keeping, use, sale, slaughter, and mortification of different types of animals are settled by ordinances of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. They are not applicable to the pet shops. Some experts point out Ordinance No 15 fro, February 3, 2006 (Ordinance of the minimum requirements for protection and humane attitude towards animals used for experiments and requirements towards the establishments where such animals are used, bred and/or delivered) as a possible reference document giving standards for keeping of animals at pet shops. It has to be emphasized that Ordinance No 15 can be used only as a reference because the environment of the animals used for experiments and the purpose of their keeping is very different from those of the animals kept in pet shops. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) trough the National Veterinary Service (NVS) and its Regional Services control the observation of the provisions of the Act. The National Veterinary Service provides veterinarian control at borders during import, export, or transit passing of animals under the procedure and manner for registration of vendors who receive shipment of animals from Member States of the European Union. When violations of LVA are ascertained the Criminal Law of Republic of Bulgaria, and also the Law of Administrative Violations and Penalties apply. The competent jurisdiction body is NVS and its regional offices. For violations of LVA concerning the trade of live animals, or violation of the rules for humane attitude and ascertained violations during trade of live animals monetary penalties are imposed, which vary between 50 and 2000 BGL. LBD states that each specimen of species, listed in the Annexes of CITES convention is a subject of import and export according to the provisions of the convention, the present Law, the Law of Customs and other special Laws. According to the LBD every living specimen from the Annexes of CITES has to be transported according to the recommendations for transport of live animals published by CITES secretariat , and in the case of air transport according to the provisions of the Annex A to resolution 620 of the International Association for Air Transport. All specimens included in Annex I and II of CITES, and also the specimens falling under the provisions of Law of Hunting and Game are subject of registration.
When violations of LBD are ascertained the Criminal Law of Republic of Bulgaria, and also the Law of Administrative Violations and Penalties apply. The competent jurisdiction body is Ministry of Environment and Waters (MEW). The Bulgarian Academy of Science is the expert body, which support the execution of the convention. By the force of Law the administratively punishing body confiscates in advantage of the state the belongings (in the particular case - live animals) subject of the violation. The use of the confiscated specimens is within the powers of the Minister of Environment and Waters. When violations of LBD are ascertained violations during trade of live animals monetary penalties are imposed, which vary between 100 and 30,000 BGN.
The confiscated specimens are accommodated in rescue centres, approved as such by the MEW. For Bulgaria these centres are: • Zoo, Sofia
• Zoo, Varna
• Rescue Centre of Green Balkans Organization, Stara Zagora During visits of the rescue centres and meetings with the employees working there it was found that confiscated specimens of the species of the convention have not entered the centres, and recently there have not been animals confiscated at customs which were subject of illegal import/export. To the present moment there is no provision in the Bulgarian legislation the species protected by CITES convention and traded in pet shops to be labelled as such on their cages/terrariums. A Law for Protection of the Animals (LPA) is in the Parliament for adoption. The parts in it which concern the animal trade provides that the owners of pet shops: 1. Provide the keepers with proper qualifications and experience in animal care, taking into account the number, species, age, and health condition of the animals;
2. Are responsible for the observance of the rules for protection of animals;
3. Organize initial and subsequent training of the employees;
4. Provide information for the animals in the shops through printed materials or trough their employees.
Section III of Chapter III of the Bill establishes general requirements for keeping and sale of animals in pet shops which will be provided in detail in the Ordinance under art. 176 Para 2 of the LVA. The Bill provides obligatory training in humane attitude towards the animals for the staff of pet shops. The owners have to offer for sale healthy animals which have undergone the necessary vet prophylactics and with documents of origin. There is an additional requirement for sale of dogs and cats only with microchip.
The Bill provides a prohibition on the purchase of animals by individuals younger than 18 years. Since the Law is not enacted yet its provisions are not considered for the purposes of the present survey. Some of its provisions are evaluated by the stakeholders who participated in the survey. General conclusions Bulgarian legislation mentions the pet shops only in some articles which do not include their activity in detail which makes it hard to be controlled. This activity is touched by LVA and LBD. According to LVA, art. 36: “…the pet shop is an animal breeding establishment for temporary accommodation and breeding of animals. The pet shops are liable of registration in the Regional Veterinary Services to the National Veterinary Service. Their inspectors have the major control function on the pet shops around the country (art.71). The controlling function of the vet inspectors concerning the pet shops is limited to issuing licenses for activity and routine check-ups for prevention of sale of veterinary medical consumables. There are no comprehensive definitions of the essence of other possible violations and accordingly there are no regulations for relative sanctions. Nowadays any citizen who wants to conduct activity in a pet shop and live animals can do this with an application for permit for sale of animals without fulfilling any requirements for keeping of animals there. The pet shops can sell protected species if the animals are registered at the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Waters (RIEW). IV. TRADE OF LIVE ANIMALS IN PET SHOPS 4.1. Pet shops selling live animals and their owners At the beginning of the nineties the trade of companion animals in Bulgaria was conducted mainly at open markets or by orders from catalogue and newspaper advertisements. Pet shops where animals are sold were rare and only separate units were selling exotic animals. The pet shops were located mainly in the capital and the big cities- Varna and Plovdiv. “I was one of the first with private practice in Sofia. Then there were no shops like nowadays. In one of the corners of my clinic I was selling animal food, live animals were not offered freely. I had a notebook with contacts and could find any animal if somebody ordered it.”
Private practicing vet, Sofia The survey showed that the actual situation of the pet shop network has changed significantly. With the exclusion of Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna the number of pet shops per city is between 3 and 5. In cities with high level of unemployment there is a decrease in trade and closing of shops. Examples of such cities are Sliven and Razgrad. In the traditionally well developed cities - Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna a tendency exist for increase of the number of pet shops and their growth in chains of shops which leads to improvement of the material base the and to bigger number of animals offered. The existence of more pet shop does not exclude the open markets and the internet commerce which remain a major element in the chain for sale of expensive exotic animals. The assortment in pet shops is getting wider. Together with the hamsters, the fish and guinea pigs more and more often the owners of the shops offer exotic animals. Also the availability of rare and expensive breeds of cats and dogs increases. The prices vary and reach 800-1000 BGL for dogs, 600-700 BGL for cats, 1500-over 3000 BGL for parrots. Even though the pet shop business gets bigger in some cities the pet shop trade remains a business of small and middle-size. More than 65% of the pet shops are located on limited surface, 5 to 30 sq.m. on average. Most common remain the types “garage shop” and “pet shop kiosk” Often the owners claim small shop area but offer a wide assortment. Pet shop as area and assortment compared to other pet shops in city
When questioned about the conditions provided in pet shops the vets’ prevalent opinion similarly stressed on the big number of cages, aquariums, etc, located one over the other. This explains the proportion between the small shop area and the wide range of animals. The conditions provided for the pets in these shops are evaluated as very negative from the vets.
“The pet shops are small. They sell different species of small-sized animals. They keep many animals in one cage, which is unacceptable. Under the cages there are open sacks with food which emits strong odor. If there is a sick animal it can pass its illness trough that food. In most of the shops fish, birds, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs are kept next to or ontop of each other.”
Private practicing vet, Plovdiv Pet shops which sell animals offer also foods, accessories, and different preparations. More than two thirds of the shops have one or two employees (40% and 43% respectively). Often the pet shop is a family business and owner is also a vendor – alone or together with some employees.
84% of the shops do not have employee/s whose only duty is the care of the animals and the vendor is the one who has these additional responsibilities. It turns out that for less than one third the sale of animals is a main source of income. With limited income and small shop area the staff are also limited and have responsibilities for different areas of competence.
The above described situation is not applicable for less than 8% of all pet shops around the country. Those are shops in the big cities and the capital. They have a surface area of more than 60 sq m. The staff consists of four or more persons and the shops have at least two employees whose duty is only to care of the animals. Those shops are located at central places and according to the vets’ opinion provide higher standards, better location of the cages and keep smaller number of animals in one cage. “Things changed a lot form the nineties. Then there were no conditions. There were many animals in every cage, which caused lots of problems. I think at the moment the pet shop owners try to provide the maximum luxury to the animals. Still there are still small premises, narrow cages, packed animals. The control of the health of the animals cannot be more criticized.”
Private practicing vet, Sofia The pet shops offer mainly animals from the more popular species which are also the most popular among the customers because of their relatively lower price. The most purchased animal at the pet shops is the budgerigar. The results from the observation allowed the following list of animals to be created which can be seen most often at the shop windows of the pet shops: dogs, cats, hamsters, Budgerigar, Lovebird, Red-eared Slider, Green Iguana, Cockatiel, Chinchilla, Grey Parrot, Rosella, Gerbil, Amazon, Degu and fish. [The data here is presented in a manner that is unclear. Does it mean 83.9% of all shops offer Budgerigars for sale? It would be better to list numbers rather than percentages or list a percentage of the total number of animals. ] Az sushto ne razbiram tablicite. Species most often offered at pet shops Another aspect of the activity in the pet shops is the information their staff provides about the different species which the clients prefer as pets. The specialized magazines with such information are only two or three periodical magazines and pocket books for just few species. Exhaustive information is given for cats and dogs even though the results from the survey show that the animals that are bought most often are different.
Most pet shops around the country offer books, magazine, and informational leaflets with recommendations for care of the animals. According to more than half of the owners the literature is not sough and bought from the clients. The lack of such interest is expressed also in the opinion of the vets. Question: Do you have observations about the knowledge of the people who buy animal from a pet shop about the requirements and the needs of the animal which they have bought?
Answer: “Most of the people who buy animal are not informed about their requirements and needs. They search such information when the animal gets ill. Most often they get information from the vendors who are not enough informed. ”
Private practicing vet, Sliven If the book and the magazine are not a sought sources of information for the clients of the pet shops then the vendor has a key role in the consulting and the successful choice of and animal which the client want to take at home.
A question was asked how the owner and his staff collect information about the behaviour and health of animals which the shop offers. The owner gives as a first and main source of information the specialized literature and magazines (83% of owners, 55% of employees). The popular scientific books and internet hold the second and the third place with 65% and 58% respectively. Every third person depends on conversations with friends or relatives who work in similar field. Only 10% of the owners of pet shops depend on their education which can e explained with the fact that 20 % of the owners with higher education are vets or zoologists.
It can be said that the self-education is a major element of the practice of the owners and the employees of the pet shops.
An important feature of the Bulgarian owner of a pet shop selling animals is the claim for competence in animal keeping. This feature is mentioned from the vets and the owners themselves. The evaluation about the levels of competence and experience is very contradictive.
The most serious reasons which the owners of pet shops give for starting of such business is their dream to work with animals or to offer services for animals. Only 5% say that they have previous experience in animal trade at other company at a lower position. Additional condition for entering this market niche is having friends and acquaintances in the business. This condition turned out to be a necessity in a situation of a market which is not regulated and with not well formed participants, when in reality the “friendly relationships” stock the shop with animals. The club activities in Bulgaria are not well developed yet. At the same time the exotic animals which are not imported are a taken from private terrariums or house breeding centres. Reasons to start a pet shop business The dream and the self-education form the amalgam of experience and competence of the pet shop owner which can be seen in two things - the conditions provided for the animals in the shops and the decisions concerning the health of the animals. Two thirds of the interviewed say they defined the premise, the volume of the cages and the manner of keeping the animal alone or after an eventual consultation with friends in the business. Less than one third of the interviewed mention a consultation with a species expert (zoologist, biologist, vet), and less than 2% are the people who asked for an advice in the breeding places.
How the premise, the volume of the cages and the manner of keeping the animals in the shop are defined
86 % of the cases the owner gives advice to the client how to care of the animal which they are buying. Almost 40% of them give information how an illness can be recognized.
Question: Is the staff of pet shops in your city competent enough to work with animals? What exactly are they competent of?
Answer: “Most of the people who have such shops love animals and they take care for them. They are not just anbody. They love animals, not only the owners of animals but those who sell. It happens that they say to the client: “This is where the animal was bought, this is where it got its first vaccination, and this is where the next one shall be put…”They do not make a general examination when to vaccinate the animal. They have cared for the animal for too long, in reality they breed the animals themselves, because they count on their own experience but it is far from enough.”
Private practicing vet, Sofia The observations of the vets concerning the health condition, the behaviour and the species development of the animals in the pet shop add to making a complete view of the situation. “The veterinary service is giving a piece of advice. You give it when somebody wants it. You don’t know if they really listen.”
Private practicing vet, Sofia Apart from Stara Zagora and Razgrad where the owners are vets themselves or use regularly veterinary service (Stara Zagora is the city with traditions because the only veterinary university was located there) in the other cities this service is sporadically or when a serious health problem appears. According to the vets interviewed almost 30% of the animals in the shops have different health problems, from skin problems to gastric disorders. Neither prophylactic nor initial examinations are being made nor systematic observations in the pet shops. Even if there is a contract with a vet it is usually only on paper with the purpose to allow to the owners of the shop to sell medical preparations which is forbidden by LVA which is a flagrant disregard of the law. Exclusions of this situation are the big chains of shops (8%) which provide vets and regular check ups of the animals. The owners of pet shops loose their competence significantly when asked about exotic animals. Even though most owners have personal experience with domesticated species (cats, dogs) they lack such when it comes to exotics.
On the other hand the vets define the exotics as having special needs for keeping. Most of them stay too long in the shops because of their high prices. The parrots are the birds most often mentioned as lacking space and being kept in overcrowded cages.
65% of pet shop owners say they sell exotic animals. In the cases of illness of exotic animal more than two thirds of them claim they take it to a vet or specialized clinic. Do you advice your clients how to recognize health symptoms when they buy exotic animal? The observation during the first stage of the survey provides additional information about the knowledge of the vendors in pet shops, selling exotic animal. Anonymous representative of the expert observing team plays a hypothetical situation with the vendor. The experiment is asking for information for keeping and illnesses for a randomly chosen exotic animal (depends on what is available for sale at the moment). The team member says that he/she is looking for a present for a ten year old child. With the experiment designed in such way it was possible to evaluate the knowledge of the vendor about the requirements for keeping the exotic pet in house conditions, what illnesses are common for the certain species and the vendor’s ability to recognize the “good owner”. Knowledge of care 21 experiments were done in the pet shops visited (81). Different animals were chosen depending on their availability, the specific requirements for which information has to be provided in any case or are often sought from the customers. The enquiries were about: Reptiles
• Green Iguana Iguanaiiguana – 4 enquiries
• Turtle Kinixys beliana
• Red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans Rodents
• Degu Octodon degu
• Chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera - 2 enquiries
• Spiny Mouse Acomys sp. – 2 enquiries
• Gerbil Meriones unguiculatus Birds
• Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius
• Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri – 2 enquiries
• Society Finch Lonchura domestica
• Zebra Finch Taenopygia guttata
• Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus
• Masked Lovebird Agapornis personata - 2 enquiries Only in two of the cases the vendors refused to sell the animal as “improper for a child” and asked if the parents are aware of the decision. In all of the cases where the enquiries were about birds they were offered with cages which were too small to provide them with sufficient space to express natural behaviour. In all cases certain information about the necessary care was not given or was omitted on purpose. Only 5 vendors recommended further readings and in 3 shops there were books available.
The conclusion from the observation is that the knowledge of vendors is partial when asked about keeping of the animals and very unsatisfactory about the illnesses the animals may carry. A common mistake is the underestimation of the requirements of the species and the age of the future owner. The commercial interest the animal to be advertised and sold comes before the potential possibility the client to keep the animal and ensure its welfare. Statistics/ evidence/ trends? Two examples of the levels of knowledge (Green Iguana is not recommended as a pet for children, which is not mentioned by both vendors): Green Iguana:
Satisfactory initial information
Knowledge of legislation and attitude of owners towards the legal framework and the state controlling bodies A big percent of the pet shop owners know about the existence of laws and conventions which regulate the trade and distribution of exotic animals in Bulgaria. More than 70% of the owners say LVA and CITES are legislative documents directly related to the above mentioned activity. Laws such as the Law on Hunting and Game and the Bern Convention do not regulate the sale of exotic species but 58% of the people interviewed give an uncertain answer “I do not know” for the LHG and 85% for the Bern convention which protects certain wild species.
The Law which is obviously not known to the pet shop owners selling animals is the LBD which regulates this activity.
Knowledge of laws and conventions which settle down the commerce and ownership of exotic animals in Bulgaria
The lack of knowledge about the LBD does not have an impact on their knowledge that the specimen of species included in the Annexes of CITES convention, which is regulated in this Law (LBD) have to be registered in the Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Waters. 87% agree to this obligation. The level of knowledge conforms exactly to the application the Law and the part which regulates the registration, because often they do not make this registration which questions the functions of the controlling bodies in applying the laws.
Every fourth of the respondents agrees that the owners of exotic animals underestimate the size of the animal and this later creates problems. The same number of respondents is informed about the existence of rescue centres in Bulgaria which are approved by MEW for accommodation of wild animals confiscated on behalf of the country and also for exotic animals confiscated at customs/shops under CITES convention (see CITES rescue centres)
Agreement with statements about exotic animals and obligations of owners of pet shops selling exotic animals
ARE CLEAR STANDARDS FOR KEEPING ANIMALS IN PET SHOPS NEEDED? – They will increase the trust in the pet shop but there will be problems with providing the space. The envisaged ordinance of LVA will introduce standards and rules for keeping of different species in pet shops. According to the pet shop owners such standards will lead to increase in prices of the animals (77%) but at the same time more than half of them say that this will have a positive impact on the health condition of the animals offered (58%). This will increase the confidence of the clients in the pet shops (57%). Only 20% of the owners forecast decrease in sales.
One of the major problems for meeting the possible standards is the requirement for cage space in relation to the shop area (35%). More than half of the pet shops are located on limited area which will have to be reordered and the ordinance will lead to increase of their costs and also to limitation of the assortment. 17% say it may lead to bankruptcy of pet shops selling animals. Possible problems of the enforcement of requirements of space, humidity, temperature, feeding of the animals WILL THERE BE A CONTRACT WITH A VET – 50% of the owners say “Yes”. The vets agree only if there are requirements for keeping of the animals.
New Title? – Veterinary Care Fact Marketing asked the vets and the pet shop owners about their opinion of obligation for the pet shops having a contract with one vet minimum that can make prophylactic medical examinations and treatment of the animals for sale accommodated in the pet shop.
Such measure is received very well, not only form the vets with private practice but also from the state inspectors. They admit that the owners will have some financial difficulties to meet the requirement and again it can be executed only on paper and agreement between vet and owners who know each other well. “It will lead to tracking of the health condition of the animals (new, offered for sale) and to prevention of zoonoses which may be transmitted to the employees, the owner or to future clients.”
Private practicing vet, Sliven “When signing the contract the vet takes the responsibility of examination and treatment of the animals. Sometimes animals die in shops.”
Private practicing vet, Razgrad The vets’ concern about the application of this requirement is that it does not say to what extend the vet carries the responsibility for the animals which cannot be tracked as planned. It happens that they leave the shop too soon and their prophylactics, de-worming and vaccination can not be done as planned. In reality such contract may have serious consequences for the vet if soon after it is sold an animal gets ill. Not all of the illnesses can be diagnosed in the short periods some animals spend in shops. This is why such contract can have serious consequences for the vet, especially if the animal gets ill soon after it goes out of the shop.
On the other hand the vets’ expectations are that such obligations should be linked to an ordinance of the minimum standards of keeping animals in pet shops. “There is not a single answer. How will a contract with a vet make the owner put fewer birds in a cage or fewer turtles in an aquarium, etc?”
Private practicing vet, Varna Half of the owners, when asked the same question said that such contract is a necessity. For 19% of them the vet is needed but the financial cost will increase for the owner and no return is expected. 23% think that there such obligation is unnecessary and prefer free consultations with vets.
Is it necessary that every pet shop has a contract with a vet for examination and treatment of animals?
Many other questions were asked in this relation to evaluate the confidence and to identify the evaluation the owners of pet shops give to the vets. The answers showed that the owners evaluate as very good only the competence of the vets to diagnose and treat cats and dogs (average for the two species 63%). For all other animals the evaluation is quite negative or no opinion is given. A possible explanation of the worry of half of the owners for closing such contract with a vet is the quality of the treatment and the need for payment, especially when it concerns exotic species.
The self evaluation of the vets’ guild about the competence in prophylactics and treatment of exotic animals is similar. The majority of the vets say that if they have to treat an exotic animal in a manner different form the general surgery or the similar procedures they always search expert opinion or help from zoo vets. One of the reasons for the lack of qualification of vets is the curriculum of the veterinary faculties of Stara Zagora and Sofia, which does not include exotic animals’ illnesses. Another reason is the general tendency of the veterinary practice in Bulgaria and its development. In reality the problematic areas and the respectively specific skills of the vets and their knowledge was related mainly to the farm animals until 15 years ago were. The interest in smaller animals – popular domesticated species (cats and dogs) - develops in the last years as part of the general tendency for having companion animals.
The vets have to deal with exotic animals more and more often in their practice. Most of them recognize the gaps in their competence and think that they can fill them only trough ordering specialized literature from abroad or from internet. The expectations are that such expertise can be acquired only trough specializations in scientific centres of exotic animals which do not exist in Bulgaria.
WILL THE ANIMALS BE REGISTERED? – Rather Not.
Another important aspect concerning the control of species sold in animals is their registration in the relevant state bodies – The Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Waters and the Regional Veterinary Service. When asked whether they will register their animals if the law requires more than two thirds of the pet shop owners say that such requirement will not be observed or there is small to middle probability for this to happen. This opinion reflects the current situation. At the moment the owners have to register in the RIEW only the species under CITES but it is not done in many cases. Probability an eventual requirement for registration of all traded animals to be observed by pet shop owners WILL CATS AND DOGS BE SOLD WITH MICROCHIP – Rather Yes.
An eventual obligation for sale of cats and dogs only with microchip is more agreeable to the owners. They think that the regulation will be easier for observation and application. According to LVA, art. 174 the registration of companion dogs (and cats) is done by a vet after a permanent markup is put. In this sense the responsibility of the owner is directly related to the responsibility of the vet.
Probability that cats and dogs are sold only with microchip WILL ANIMALS BE SOLD TO CHILDREN – Yes. The acquirement of an animal from minors without parents’ permission is not recommendable. The Bill of the Law for protection of the animals includes a prohibition of ownership of an animal to people that are less than 18 years old.
The practice shows that the minors are between the most frequent visitors of the pet shops. The information from the survey proves the observations. When questioned what is the probability to sell animals only to adults more than 40% of the pet shop owners say this will not be observed. It has to be mentioned that the children are the best potential buyers but have less knowledge of the needs of the animal they buy for keeping at home. Probability an obligation animals to be sold to only adults to be observed
WILLTHERE BE TRAINING IN HUMANE ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE ANIMALS FOR THE STAFF OF THE PET SHOPS – Yes.
Expectations exist that the ordinance of pet shops will provide ways for qualification of the employees and owners of pet shops. Apart from the additional materials for certain species, most of the vets mention in the survey the ordinances for humane attitude to animals and recommend that the pet shop staff know them. According to 61% of the pet shop owners their employees need training in humane attitude towards the animals. The understanding of such need shows the will of the owners to improve conditions for keeping of pet and to develop the competence level of their employees. This will have an impact on the quality of the services offered and on the profit from the pet shop. Only 23% think such training is unnecessary and 16% do not have an opinion on the matter.
The attitude of the pet shop owners towards the different institutions directly related to their activity is also important to obtain a full picture of the trade with animals.
The evaluation of the work of state authorities is controversial. The work of the higher level institutions is evaluated negatively while the controlling levels - the inspectors receive better evaluation. This can find explication in the way the opinion of the pet shop owners is formed. The contact with Ministries is distant and is formed mainly from the informative news On the other hand it is very hard to give a simple explanation of the evaluation of the reasons for positive attitude towards the work of inspectors from RIEW and RVS with whom they have a direct connection.
Evaluation of the work of:
According to the survey the inspectors visit a shop once every six months on average. These controlling bodies have very limited functions. Their responsibilities are mainly to check the licenses for sale of animals and inspections for sale of forbidden veterinarian products, which by Law should not be done in pet shops.
Question: According to you, which species require special veterinarian treatment and observation and which species have special health and behavioral problems when kept in pet shops? “We do not have an opinion and we are not specialists. For us it is important whether they have permits to sell live animals, not to sell medicines, not to sell veterinarian products. There are no legal requirements, not only for live animals but for pet shops in general. There is no such ordinance. Conclusions can be made for vet clinics, labs, warehouses otherwise you cannot judge.”
State inspector, RVS, Sofia [What are you using this quotation to highlight?]
In this sense the inspector is not a problem for the owner, selling live animals, since the controlling body does not question the trade of animals and does not issue recommendations. It is expected that the opinion of owners will change greatly if the controlling functions of the inspectors increase. Problems in contact with vet inspectors When question about what type of control shall be exercised in pet shops the vets give the following recommendations: • Real control at borders;
• Owners to pass a course in ethics and humane attitude towards animals;
• Courses to be established in practices of how to keep and feed different animals;
• A contract to be closed with minimum one vet with private practice;
• The vaccinations, check ups and prophylactics to be done on regular basis;
• Permanent identification of animals, registration;
• Certificates of origin, place of import, route list of the animal;
• State inspectors shall know the legislation;
• A periodical control of the hygiene conditions of pet shops. “I hope the new changes in the legislation will solve the problem with the initial and periodical control of the hygiene and health conditions of the species.”
Private practicing vet, Stara Zagora “The control is obligatory. The new animals which enter the shop shall be checked insolated in different premises, etc. Those which are in the shop shall be periodically examined in order to prevent an eventual zoonosis.”
Private practicing vet, Sliven “Each animal shall have a document of origin (breeding ground, physical person), exact age, vaccinations, phone and address of parents. A dog or cat of age under 40 days shall not be sold. They have to be sold with first vaccination, de-wormed, if they have reached the age for that and have remained in the shop. The space for movement, temperature, humidity, all these have to be put in the legislation.”
Private practicing vet, Varna “There has to be real control at borders. Quarantine is needed for all animals entering the pet shop. There has to be obligatory examination of animals by vets, controlled by diaries and legal responsibility of seller and vet for a regular manipulation missed. The observation of hygiene of premises and health record cards for the employees is a must.”
Private practicing vet, Plovdiv 4.3. Exotic animals at private homes During the survey 156 people who have exotic animals as pets at home were interviewed. It got clear that the exotic animals are more expensive and require specific keeping which is still not popular. The most expensive and not so widely spread animals, like crocodiles, primates, big cats are sold via Internet catalogues. The observation showed that from the exotics the pet shops sell mainly parrots and turtles. More than two thirds of the interviewed owners of exotic animals claim they got their animal from a pet shop.
The keeping of exotic animals turns into a long-lasting hobby. More than 50% of the people say they had different species at the past and have more than one animal at present. Even though the exotic animals have special requirements and their acquirement shall be based on a responsible personal decision most of the animals in Bulgaria are given as a present. More than 33% of the people interviewed began to care of an exotic animal because it was given to them by another person. This brigs up the question whether animals have to be given as present without the agreement of the future owners and what will the faith be of an animal which is unwanted. Other buyers were motivated by books and information in the media. Personal Reason to get an exotic animal The most popular exotic species are budgerigars (50%), red-eared sliders (47%), different tarantulas (16%), green iguanas (11%), and chinchillas (11%). Grey parrots, Cockatiels, different geckos, chameleons, pythons, scorpions, mice, insects, including big cats (jaguars, tigers) add to the diversity of species.
65% keep an exotic animal bought as a present from a pet shop which gives them direct or indirect (coinciding from the further development of the animal) impression of the situation of the pet shops. More than half of the owners (54%) of exotic animals say they will buy an animal again from a pet shop. The reasons they give for such decision are the satisfactory evaluation they give about the information the potential customers receive about keeping the animals. They also have the opportunity to check the animal, see if it is social, ask for its origin and tell whether it is healthy. Additionally the pet shops sell equipment and food which completes the service and no more time is wasted in looking for the stuff needed for the animal.
The people that will not buy animal from a pet shop (35%) for their decision the reason that the prices are high. Another problem for them is the lack of proper health care and the high mortality rate of exotic animals bought from pet shops, the lack of knowledge of the employees and bad conditions.
Wish to buy an exotic animal from a pet shop
A question was asked whether a vet has examined the exotic pet they keep. A worrying fact is that 50% of the owners of pet shop animals say they never have taken the animal to vet or think it does not need examination. This is an indicator that most animals never receive prophylactics or medical care. An indicator for the lack of veterinary care is also the fact that 70% of the owners receive information about the keeping of the animal from Internet and books, while only 25.64% depend on the opinion of an expert.
Has a veterinarian ever checked the animal? More than 70% of exotic pet owners think they provide proper care and food for their animals. A worrying percent of the people who care for exotic animals and think they can provide everything necessary are not sure whether their animals (tarantulas, Grey Parrots, Green Iguanas, different boas, etc.) are subject of CITES or if they require other special registration. Some owners who say that they breed more than 40 species of exotic animals think that their animals are not protected biological species.
Shall the protected exotic animals have permanent identification mark?
Even though the information about protected animals is not known completely by the exotic animals’ owners more than 54% think they have to have permanent identification mark and 50% say they will registered their animal of it is protected and the law requires registration.
Will you, personally register your exotic pet with RIEW?
INCLUDED OBSERVATION
As a part of the present survey 81 pet shops were visited around the country in order the real conditions provided for the animals in them to be assessed. As it was mentioned in the second chapter the shops were chosen on centre-outskirts basis and their employees were not informed about the observation.
The results and their expression in percentages give good idea of the conditions in which the animals live and which are visible to the customers of the pet shops in Bulgaria. The choice of criteria for the different animal species was based on the set of standards so called the ‘Five Freedoms’ established the FAWC (Farm Animal Welfare Council, UK) by 1993. They are lately widely used as an indicator for welfare provided to each animal. These are: 1. Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition: by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from discomfort: by providing a suitable environment, including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease: by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Freedom to express normal behaviour: by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animals own kind.
5. Freedom from fear and distress: by ensuring conditions, in which animals are able to avoid mental suffering [Webster 1994].
The ‘Five Freedoms’ became widely accepted measures and excellent indicators of (wild and domestic) animal welfare necessities (e.g. thermal comfort, satisfaction, security, etc.) in captive environments. It must be emphasised that all of these conditions cannot and should not be provided for animals at the same time; nonetheless every effort should be made, to keep animals in conditions that meet their needs. (Webster 1994, as quoted by REX, 2002)
V. REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS and INVERTEBRATES
The keeping of exotic animals was not well developed until fifteen years ago. Most often animals from the Bulgarian wild fauna were traded (exclusively illegal, according to the prohibitions existing in the nature protection legislation in the country). The increased travel opportunities and the new sources of information (internet, foreign literature) create new prerequisites for the increase of interest in exotic and unusual species. This contributes to the increase of trade of such animals. During the observation carried out during March-August, 2006 it became clear that in pet shop pets form limited number of taxa are traded, usually animals wrongly considered “easy to care for”.
Even though there are many sources available for the specific requirements of such animals the clients very rarely understand the responsibility they take with the purchase. The vendors hide on purpose information about the additional financial means and efforts which the animals require in order for the deal to be closed. The main part of trade with reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates is unregistered and trough other channels (see: Other types of trade).
During the observation period the exotic pet forums and e-commerce sites were checked where different reptiles were offered, such as: Golden Gecko Gekko ulikovski or Manchurian Black Water Snake Elaphe Schrenckii which were not sold in any pet shop. The teams were offered on several occasions to purchase animals from private collections. Reptile Care Criteria for proper care observed in during the survey for reptile were: size of terrariums (water and dry area accordingly for species which require both); proper equipments, temperature and ventilation, lightning and heating, food, water, hygiene, and safety. Social needs are taken into account for species with strong territorial instinct and for species living in groups. The observation showed that the most traded animal from the reptiles in pet shops is Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans and Green Iguana Iguana iguana while the other species are offered in limited numbers and are subject of trade mainly outside of pet shops. This is why special attention is paid on these two species. Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans Large numbers of these attractive animals are traded in pet shops mostly because of their low price. Most of the offered specimen are small in age and size which together with the misleading information given from the vendors creates the illusion that they are easy to keep at home. This impression strengthens by the conditions the customers see in the shops. These conditions in most of the cases do not provide good life to the red-eared sliders.
In 53% of the cases the size of the terrariums was not adequate for the animal needs. Sometimes it was because of their small size, or because of the large number of specimen living together. An obligatory requirement for the welfare of the red-eared slider is the presence of water and dry areas in the terrarium. In 18% of the cases this condition was not observed. The animals in the abovementioned cases were kept only in water, which is unacceptable because of their need of thermoregulation and need of rest. In some terrariums even though there was a dry area it was insufficient for all the animals that were kept in it. In 34% the water part was with small depth which did not allow the complete diving of the animals and they were not capable of exercising their natural movement trough swimming. Often the sliders were offered together with terrariums in which the minimum depth was not provided even for the sliders of small size. Senneke (Senneke, 2003) recommends a minimum depth of the water area for the smallest red-eared sliders in trade to be 7.5-15 cm. For specimen above 10 cm in size he recommends 20 to 60 cm of water depth. Only in one case information was given about the real size these tortoises reach. The equipment of terrarium is of life importance to all reptiles. As inhabitants of zones of tropical and subtropical climate the red-eared sliders require temperature in certain limits which is about 23.8ºС-28ºС for the water area and 29.4ºС-31ºС for the heated dry spots (Kaplan, 2005). A standard practice for heating of terrariums in pet shops turned out to be aquarium heaters for the water and electric bulbs with heating filaments for the dry area. The control of temperature was exercised trough thermometers which in all of the cases were present only for the water area. In 78% of the cases there were no sources for control of the water temperature. No sources of lightning or heating were provided in 41% of the dry areas. All of the observed terrariums were without lids and sufficient ventilation was provided. It is important that good air circulation is ensured but having an open top terrarium is contradictory because it can lead to pollution of the area, faster evaporation of the water, to threaten safety and comfort of the animals which are more accessible to visitors.
In none of the cases there were no special sources of lightning (apart form the abovementioned bulbs). Even in the few shops where vendors were giving information about the need of UV source (needed for the synthesis of vitamin D3 and the metabolism of calcium) such source was not provided.
During the observation the registration of feeding as a parameter for proper care was not a proper indicator because of its momentous character. As a single closed system the terrarium needs a mean of throwing away the stored garbage and water quality control. This is achieved with aquarium filters which were put in 25% of the terrariums. Even if a filter is present in the terrarium there is always a need of manual care for the hygiene (change of water, cleaning of walls) with different frequency. In 22% of the cases the water in the terrariums was polluted with faeces and other organic waste.
The safety of the inhabited areas was on a satisfactory level. Cases where there was a sharp edge between the dry and the water area and also prerequisites for drowning were present in 5% of all terrariums with red-eared sliders. Cases of unguarded electricity or possibility for direct contact of animals with very heated surfaces were not observed.
In one terrarium with 12 small red-eared sliders one had died of drowning stuck below the stone, which represented the dry area in that terrarium.
Improper social situations were observed in 11% of the cases. They were provoked by the keeping together of animals of different size or from different species which is not recommendable. There was a case of 4 red-eared sliders and one Florida Soft-shelled Turtle Trionyx ferox , which was about 25 cm. which inhabited a terrarium 50/40/40 cm which was lacking a dry area. Such coexistence of apparently common species is very wrong because of the increased competence, which coincides from the higher level of aggressiveness of the Florida Soft-shelled Turtle. Proper conditions were provided in some cases for small and young animals (length of the body between 4 and 8 cm.). All or some parameters of animal welfare were not observed for all other turtles of bigger size which were offered in pet shops.
A serious problem turns out to be the fact that in many shops the potential customers are not warned about the size these animals can reach. In the majority of cases in which the small animals are provided with proper conditions with their age their bigger size becomes a problem. Then they are release in the wild in artificial water basins, rivers and irrigation canals. In none of the shops the client was warned about the consequences which such introduction of highly resistant species has on the local fauna and ecosystems not only in Bulgaria but globally.
After joining the EU the existing ban on the import of red-eared sliders shall be enacted in Bulgaria as well. The market needs will be met by animals bred on the territory of Bulgaria and the EU. Green Iguana Iguana iguana Very often said to be the easiest to care from the reptiles the green iguana is between the most sought cold blooded pets in Bulgaria. As for most of the exotic pets sold, the “advertisement” made from the vendors gives unrealistic idea about the needs of the animals. Even if the information about the needs of the animal is proper it dramatically does not correspond to the conditions in which the animal is kept in the shops.
The size and the equipment of the terrariums in all cases and also the height which is needed in order proper climbing conditions to be provided were far from satisfactory. The pieces of wood which were found sometimes were put horizontally in positions which could not fulfil the climbing needs of the iguana.
Only in one case the bedding of the terrarium was turf for reptile care. Interesting and apt was the use of artificial grass in other terrarium with green iguana (Kaplan, 1997). In the other shops strange variations were observed such as cats’ toilet, sand for building purposes, or there was no bedding at all which showed either lack of competence of the shop attendants or purposeful neglect of the animal needs.
In none of the terrariums there were areas of different temperatures formed, due to their small size. The heating and lighting were provided in 30% of the cases. Usually the equipment was a regular bulb for domestic purposes. In one of the cases there was a heater buried under the bedding along the whole length of the terrarium. Such devices are dangerous, unless they have a temperature relay because they can cause heavy burns on the reptiles’ skin. Obviously the lack of sensitivity to high temperatures of reptiles (Flank, 2001) was not known to the employees of 44% of shops where iguanas were sold. The domestic bulbs that were used there were not isolated and were accessible to the animals and were threatening their safety. In none of the cases a temperature control device was present. Proper ventilation was not provided in 33% of the cases.
Similar to other reptiles in pet shops the sources of UV lightning needed for the normal development of the animals was not provided for the iguanas. In 54% of the terrariums no food was provided. In the other cases the only food which was observed was lettuce which is not a good as a major diet ingredient because of its low nutritional value (Green Iguana Society, 2005). In one of the shops the green iguanas were fed with granulated cats’ food which is very harmful to this species because of its high contents of animal proteins (Green Iguana Society, 2005). The owner knew about the feeding specifics and shared that he had fed them with shredded carrots in the past but it was too much of hard work. In 54% of the cases in the terrariums there was no drinking water provided. The hygiene needed for the welfare of iguana and even for the aesthetical appearance of the terrarium was not present in 44% of the cases. The bedding and the walls were obviously polluted with faeces and rotting food remains. In a shop in the central part of the capital 8 young iguanas were offered for sale, each about 40 cm long. The terrarium was very dirty covered with polluted sand. It had dimensions of 80/40/40 cm. There was no equipment apart from a single domestic bulb. At the moment of observation no food or water were provided and also there were no vessels for them. According to Keller (Keller, 2006) in the wild the iguana is a strongly territorial animal and is recommended that it is bred in captivity alone. This condition for meeting the social needs of the iguanas was not observed in 40% of the cases.
Other reptiles
Similar problems to the ones mentioned above were observed for the other reptiles in the pet shops. The percent values mentioned in this chapter are calculated for the number of terrariums with reptiles different of red-eared slider and green iguana.
In 63% of cases the size of the terrariums was insufficient to provide the space needed for all of the animals. All of the big snakes for sales (pythons and boas of sizes of more than 1.5 m) inhabited terrariums with longest side half of the length of the animal. The arboreal species (Boa constrictor and Anolis carolinensis) were not provided with sufficient height and proper branches for their natural movement through climbing.
The equipment of terrariums in most cases was very unsatisfactory. The need of shelters for species with active and rest periods (for sleeping and digestion) is indisputable but in 63% of the cases was completely neglected. Only 7% of the terrariums were provided with shelters which were not sufficient for all the animals there.
The high disposition of reptiles to stomatitis and gastric infections are often cause by small particles swallowed trough soil and sand (Greenberg, 1996). This is why a careful choice shall be made of the bedding for species which feed on the ground. Only in one terrarium which specimen of two different species of Hingeback Tortoises (Kinixys erosa and Kinixys belliana) were sharing turf was used but its layer was not sufficient for meeting their natural needs for digging (Altherr&Freyer, 2001). The other case recorded of use of such material was in the same shop for the green iguanas.
In 37% of the terrariums observed there were no temperature control devices. In the other cases domestic bulbs were used. In none of the cases thermometers were provided for control of the temperature. Ventilation was not provided in 37% of the terrariums.
The situation with the lightning sources of proper characteristics was identical to the one of the red-eared slides and the green iguanas. Such sources were not used in the pet shops for the reptiles.
The only case of presence of food (lettuce) in a terrarium was at the terrarium of the aforementioned Hingeback Tortoises. This result is not indicative for the attitude towards the reptiles in pet shops because the methodology limits the observation of short term activities such as feeding.
In two thirds of reptiles cases observed in pet shops (67%) no drinking water was provided. Here the terrariums with water areas are not considered.
Obvious lack of hygiene as a result of irregular cleaning of the terrariums was recorded in 37% of the cases. In all terrariums with water area it was very dirty.
Unsecured from direct contact with the animals’ skin electrical lamps and sharp edges are the main problems related to the safety of the reptiles in pet shops. Such problems were recorded in 37% of the cases. In both cases of sale of Spectacled Caiman Caiman crocodiles (young specimen with length of the body of 50 cm) the water area needed for the comfort of the animals was of size which could not fit the whole body of the animals. The depth of the water (obviously not cleaned for a long time) was about 2-3 cm. The water was in glass containers with sharp edges, put on the bedding, which could not provide the safety entering in the so called water area. The bedding consisted of very dirty sand which could lead to serious skin infections. For temperature and lightning control domestic lamps were used.
Amphibians and invertebrates
Criteria for proper care observed during the survey for amphibians and invertebrates were: size of terrariums (water and dry area accordingly for species which require both); proper equipments, temperature and ventilation, lightning and heating, food, water, hygiene, safety and social needs. The pet shops in Bulgaria offer a limited number of species of these two groups. During the observation only the following animals were seen in pet shops. From the amphibians one case was recorded of African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis albino form – about 25 young specimens, 5-6 cm long, inhabiting a terrarium of size 60/35/45 cm, equipped with filter and having good hygiene of water, shelters made of stones and artificial plants. The most common invertebrate pet in Bulgaria is the Honduras Curly Hair Tarantula Brachypelma albopilosa (3 adult and 5 young specimens). The adults in all of the cases were kept in very small terrariums (not more than 20/20/20 cm) with shelters provided on their own which met their social needs since the tarantulas are very territorial animal. The young tarantulas inhabited plastic boxes without any equipment.
In the only case of sale of Emperor Scorpion Pandinus sp. the terrarium was covered with a thin layer of sand without any shelter or devices for control of humidity and temperature for this tropical species living in the forest litter (Manning, 1998).The only indicator met was the one of space. VI. BIRDS The breeding of decorative birds has long traditions in Bulgaria. During the 1960s lovers of these animals (mainly canary breeders) began to establish regional and national organizations. The interest in birds increases in the 1990s century. The desire for demonstration of keeping unusual and exotic birds is added to the collectors and conservation passions. Similar to the reptiles the birds are offered directly in pets shops in limited number of species while the main diversity can be found trough other sources such as internet, newspapers and ads in pet shops. The criteria for the proper care, observed in the present survey for the birds are: size of cage; presence of adequate equipment; location of cage; food; water; social needs; hygiene; and health condition. Temperature, lightning and ventilation of cages always depend on their location for this reason they are not taken as separate indicators. Similar to the reptiles, special attention is paid to one species and one gender because of the greater interest in them and the big number of mistakes made while keeping them. Budgerigar Mellopsittacus undulatus This intriguing bird is a wonderful pet. Its keeping is not complicated but due to lack of information or wrong information given sometimes the parrots are kept in conditions which are very harmful to them. Sometimes the reason is in the vendors which do not have or do not share the knowledge about the animal care.
The observation in pet shops showed that in many cases in order a bigger choice to be provided to the clients a big number of birds is kept in cages of very insufficient size. The percentage is high – 47%. In other 33% of the cases the number of the birds is small but the size of the cages is again insufficient. A good indicator of these cases was the condition of the tail feathers which if constantly touching the bars or the floor of the cage have broken structure (Lawrey, 1997). Often the vendors offer to their clients smaller than the necessary size cages because of their lower price and for the simplification of the sale.
The minimum requirement of the species and the location of the perches as part of the cage equipment is two perches (preferably natural branches (Choose to Prosper, 2006)) at different levels and of different thickness. In 56% of the cages such condition or better were provided. Natural branches were present in only 9% of the cages. In 12% the perches were not sufficient for all birds and some of them were forced to stay of the floor of the cage. A curious and active bird as the budgerigar needs many different toys (this applies to all other parrots). Many bells, mirrors and similar objects are offered in the pet shops but only 7% of the cages were equipped with such. The water and sand baths needed for maintenance of the feathers were not seen in any cage.
The natural habitats of most of the decorative birds are tree branches and bushes where they find hiding places from the predators. On the ground they feel insecure and threatened all of the time. Budgerigars are not an exclusion this is why the location of the cage is a major condition for their welfare. A cage on the floor of the shop creates constant stress situation for the birds which can lead to different aberrations in their health condition. Another factor which depends on the cage location is the presence of draughts in the premise which can cause health problems to birds. Often cages put outside of the shop lacked shades. Intolerable mistakes in the cage location were recorded in 25% of the cases.
Proper feeding is one of the major factors for the welfare of animals kept at private homes or pet shops. The diet recommended by most of the vendors consisted of a mixture of different seeds. It is good as a base but not sufficient. Unfortunately in 41% of the cases the good diet was neglected and the birds were fed only with millet. Only in one cage the birds were given fruit (an apple). This cage was the only one where birds were given sand for gastrulates. The supply of different chemical elements of live importance, mostly calcium provided with special mineral blocks were put in 4% of the cages. The other popular alternative for supply of the calcium needed – cuttlefish bone was not seen in any cage with budgerigars.
Unconditional obligation of the owner is ensuring permanent access to fresh drinking water to birds. All cages observed had water containers but in 31% of them the water was obviously old and polluted. A bird living in flocks the budgerigar requires the presence of other birds around it (Parrot Parrot, 2006). This requirement was not met in only one case. A problem which concerns the social needs of the budgerigars is that often the birds are sold alone without information that in such case the new owner has to spend enough time with the bird.
Maintaining good hygiene of cages, food and water containers and of other equipment is important for the health of the birds. In 37% of the cases good hygiene was lacking, mainly when in the cage a big number of birds was kept. The limited number of visits to shops cannot be fully objective because the cleaning may have been scheduled for example for the next day. Even if such assumption is made it cannot excuse the fact that the animals were kept in improper conditions. The health issue of budgerigars was another indicator observed. The problem was that the noticeable signs during observation were the condition of the feathers and to a smaller degree other behavioural reactions (apathy etc.). 23% of the birds looked as if they had health problems and required medical attention. In one of shops 25 budgerigars and 7 cockatiels were kept in one cage and 21 budgerigars and 10 cockatiels in another. The perches (one per cage) were made from strange metal wire with uneven plastic covering. They were put on the floor of the cage without being firmly attached. Even if it was possible all of their length to be used they would still be not enough for all the birds to rest on them. Because they were not well attached one of the perches was hanging and only 7-8 birds could land on it. The food and water containers were uncovered inside of the cage and very dirty. The only food provided was millet (because of the husks it was hard to tell whether there was any food in them) even though the shop was selling a good variety of proper foods for birds. The bars, the perches and the floor of the cages were very dirty with faeces, husks and it was clear that nobody had cleaned them for a very long time. Most of the birds had broken feather structure; some of them were trying to hide in the corners without any sign of activity while some other had noticeable aggressive behaviour. Lovebirds Agapornis spp. Attractive with their colourful feathers, active behaviour and small size these African parrots are very sought for pets in pet shops. Mainly Peach-faced Lovebird Ag. roseicollis are offered, more rarely Masked Lovebird Ag. Personata. The observation recorded only one specimen of Fischer's Lovebird Ag. fischeri and one of Grey-headed Lovebird Ag. Canus kept together in one cage.
The small bodies of these birds mislead the pet shops’ employees who accommodate the birds in small cages which condition was observed in 38% of the cases. Similar to the budgerigar the lovebirds are kept in cages of improper size. 43% of the cages were lacking good equipment, mainly perches. The location of the perches did not allow the natural movement of birds (sometimes limited by the size of the cage) or there was only one perch per cage. Only in two cases wood branches were used as perches. The improper location (on the floor, at shop windows where people were passing by all of the time and there were no shelters, or at draughts) was recorded in 29% of the cases of sale of lovebirds.
In most shops the lovebirds were fed with proper grain mixture for middle-sized parrots. Only in one case millet was given. Unfortunately no other food was recorded during the observation. Mineral blocks, cuttlefish bone or sand against gastrulates were also not provided.
In all cages observed there was water provided. In three of the cases it was polluted by food remains and faeces.
The existing myth of the fatal devotion of the lovebirds of one pair (Griffin, 2004) contributes to the satisfaction of their social needs. Sometimes because of this auspicious delusion the vendors refuse to sell the birds alone. Regardless of that 19% of the birds were living alone. This may not be a problem if the bird receives lot of care and time from its owner (Horton, 2006).
During the observation the teams recorded bad hygiene in only 14% of the cases. This may coincides from the fact than normally only two birds are kept in a cage which simplifies the maintaining of hygiene a lot. In 14% of the cases the birds had obvious signs of problems with their health condition. These were mainly lack of activity or were very low-spirited. In 24% of the cases the feather tails had broken structure which indicates small cage or improper diet.
Other parrots
Always interesting and amusing the parrots are offered in relatively big variety in the pet shops. Even though of different species they have quite similar care requirements and accordingly the problems are alike.
Only in 34% of the cases observed the size of the cages was of acceptable size for the number and the size of the birds which were kept in them. Most of the acceptable cases were of parrots of small to middle size kept alone or in a pair. Large numbers of big parrots such as Gray Parrot Psittacus sp.sp., Amazon Amazona sp., Cockatoo Cacatua sp., Macaw Ara sp.were kept in cages where they could hardly turn without problems. There were problems with the middle-sized parrots, mainly with Cockatiels Nymphicus hollandicus. Often a big number of birds were sharing a very small cage.
Directly related to the size of the cages where parrots are kept is their location and the type of perch. When one cage is small it does not have too much space left in it and people in pet shops equip it with only one perch. Unfortunately even if the cage is of proper size its equipment, mainly the perch is unsuitable. Natural branches (the best option for perches) were used only in 7% of the cages. Only 9% of the cages were provided with some toys to occupy the birds in the limited space. Water or sand baths were not seen. Improper cage equipment was recorded in 42% of the cages.
All of the factors which depend on the cage location and were described for the aforementioned parrot species apply to the rest. 20% of the cages with parrots different from budgerigars and lovebirds were put in improper places, mostly on the floor close to the pet shop visitors.
The grain mixtures for middle-sized to big parrots simplify a lot the care for the animal but it has to be mentioned that no other food was offered in any of the shops. Only 4% of the cages had mineral blocks in them.
No cage was seen without drinking water. In 14% it was dirty. The parrots do not live alone. If they do not live in a flock they have a mating partner. This is why keeping them alone can cause different unpleasant behavioural and health problems. Obviously the majority of the shops do not care about their social needs and in 53% of the cages the parrots lived in desolation. These are mainly expensive animals like Grey Parrots and Amazons which remain in the shop longer in such conditions.
Having in mind the high price of some of the parrots their vendors maintain good hygiene. 18% of the cages were not cleaned most of them with Cockatiels Nymphicus hollandicus or Red-rumped Parrots Psephotus haematonotus. Only in 9% of the cases signs of poor health were obvious. Problems with their feather had the smaller parrots while the bigger ones showed mainly behavioural reactions such as hysteria or apathy.
In one shop a Blue-fronted Amazon Amazona aestiva was living in a cage 50/40/40 cm obviously not cleaned for a long time. The cage had a plastic perch similar to the one described at the budgerigar section. In the same way the perch was turned and almost unusable (a team visited the same shop a month later and the perch was in the same position). The ends of the perch were sticking out and were a potential thread from injury to the bird. Because it was forced to stand on the floor and was rubbing the bars of the cage its tail feathers had almost disappeared. The cage was put very high and it could not be seen whether it had food or water. The unfavourable conditions have caused the bird to change its behaviour and it was aggressive and hysterical.
Other birds This group was mainly presented by songbirds and pigeons. Most popular are the canaries which also have the longest breeding traditions in Bulgaria. These traditions presume that the birds receive proper care and right attitude. Unfortunately such thorough care was not provided in the pet shops.
It seems that standard dimensions for a cage with often more than one canary are 25/15/15 cm (the Swiss ordinance on pet shop recommends a surface of 0.3 m2 which is about 10 times more). Birds were kept in cages of such size in 18%. The total percentage of cages of improper size for birds different from parrots was 59%.
All problems described to this point with the cage equipment apply to the keeping in pet shops of these birds. From all the cases observed in 58% of them the location and the number of the perches was improper. No other equipment (here food and water containers are not included) was seen.
35% of the cages with birds different from parrots had bad location – shop window or very close to the ground, sometimes both. Here also the lightning has to be mentioned as a factor for the birds’ welfare. Nowhere special lightning sources were provided. In all pet shops the staff relied on the natural sun light. The need of light is not taken into account and sometimes it leads to absurd situations. The reasons the lightning to be mentioned in this chapter is a shop selling mainly finches and canaries without windows or artificial light provided. Proper food is one of the major factors for the welfare of the pets but many mistakes are made when planning a good diet. The common option is the grain mixtures which are good as a base on which a diet to be developed which includes fresh vegetables, weed seeds and animal proteins.
The observation showed that such diet is not provided anywhere. Only one shop which offered mainly canaries (bred by the owner) weed seeds were offered to the birds. It was hard to tell whether the birds were fed only with millet or a millet base mixture with other seeds. It is important to mention that no cage was seen without food, even if it was of low quality.
All cages were also provided with water and easy access to it. In Bulgaria traditionally the canaries are bred alone which was how they were found in the pet shops. Keeping canaries together is rare. In 55% of the cages (including with canaries) the birds were kept alone which is harmful to their social needs.
Because of the small cage sizes the signs indicating different diseases are hard to notice. Even though there were some difficulties when checking the birds health condition the only presence of ill birds in the shop is what is important. During the survey birds with potential health problems were seen in 8% of the cases.
VII. MAMMALS
The most popular and most affordable from this class have always been the rodents. In the past decade the interest in these animals has also increased. In contrast to the past when the choice was between guinea pig, hamster or rabbit now the shops stock chinchillas, squirrels, different species of exotic mice, etc. Recommended in the shops as very easy to care for families with children the new unusual rodents have growing popularity. The other exotic mammals (predators and primates) are also very attractive. The criteria for the proper care, observed for this class are: size of cage; presence of adequate equipment; location of cage; temperature and ventilation; food; water; social needs; hygiene; safety and health condition. Similar to the species special attention is paid to one species Chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera, because of the greater interest in them and their relatively high price which is the reason why they stay longer in shops. Chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera The chinchillas are the biggest rodents offered in pet shops. They need a spacious cage at some levels because of its high activity and their climbing needs. In many cases the cages offered are very insufficient as size to satisfy the needs of the animals of movement and space. In the pet shops themselves enough space was not provided in 89% of the cases. Here cages of one level or of very low height are considered.
The needs of this likeable animal of special cage equipment are very often neglected. Even though they get used to the people in their natural habitat they are very low active during the day and need special resting place. Such shelter was not provided in 94% of the cases. Chinchillas are very predisposed to disproportionately grown incisors. Branches for climbing and shaping of incisors were lacking in 45% of the cages.
The obligatory dust bath for maintaining clean fur (even though the vendors were informing about it) was provided only in 22% of the cages. An account is given that the sand bath may have been taken away because its permanent presence in the cage may cause drying of the fur.
Because of the relatively big size of the cages (even though not sufficient as space for meeting needs of the animals) most of them were located on the floors or at places with permanent draughts. Such improper location was registered in 56% of the cases observed. As a species natural for the South American mountains the chinchilla is very sensitive to high temperatures. For their keeping only cages are sold which makes the control of the temperature impossible. This creates a serious thread of heat strokes to these delicate animals. The market offers a good variety of foods for chinchillas. In most shops the animals were fed with such products but the obligatory for their rich in fibres diet hay was missing in 22% of all cases (The Dust Bath, 2006). In 33% of all cages no food was provided. Water was not provided in 22% of the cases.
The tolerance of chinchillas to other specimen of their kind is controversial. Some sources recommend that chinchillas are kept alone (RSPCA, 2006) or if the owner wants a couple to introduce very carefully the male and the female to each other. Others recommend their keeping in couples as best for the animals. (Animal World, 2006). In any case keeping many animals in a limited space is not good for them. This was recorded in 17% of the cases. Because of their relatively high price few employees neglect the hygiene of the cages. 17% of them were in unacceptable condition. Obvious signs of poor health or lack of safety were not observed.
In front one of the pet shops in the capital 5 male chinchillas were sharing a cage purposed for a singe guinea pig (60/40/30 cm). The cage was put on the sidewalk without any shelter from the summer sun. The poor hygiene was not stopping the numerous people passing by to try to contact the animals, which was causing additional permanent stress to the tormented animals.
Other mammals The size of the cages of the animals offered in pet shops is directly related to the size of the shop itself and the number of cages in it. Cages of insufficient size in relation to the number of the animals in them were observed in 21% of the cases. In 18% improper location was registered. These were cases when the animals were at the shop window or in very dark places where the lack or the excess of light did not allow them to follow their day and night cycles of activity.
The location of the cages on the floor creates a continuous stress and feeing of uncertainty for the animals and was also registered as improper location in the observation. In one of the shops all cages with rodents were put on the floor and were easily accessible to the cats freely walking around. Three degus whose cage was the most unprotected were slamming in its back part in panic because they were not provided with any shelter. Proper equipment (bedding, shelters, accessories for play, etc) are a key factor for the welfare of the animals. In 83% the animals were not provided with any shelters which guarantee their safety and physical condition.
Most of the mammal species lead very active life which includes lots of climbing. In a limited space this necessity can be met by putting some branches in various angles but only 14% of the cages with climbing species had such. The choice of bedding is important in order to ensure easy maintaining of the hygiene and to satisfy some more specific needs of the animals such as nest building. Usually for this purpose the shops use shavings sometimes of unknown origin which does not guaranty that it is free from toxic ingredients. No cage observed was lacking bedding. Only two cages had accessories to occupy the animals (wheels and tunnel systems) even though all shops offered a good variety of them.
The sand baths recommended for the maintenance of the fur of degus (Gehrsitz, 2006) and gerbils (Shawsheen River Gerbil, 2006) were not provided anywhere.
No case was recorded where the temperature and the ventilation of the cages were controlled in any way. All animals were kept at room temperature even though it is very inappropriate for some of the species. Devices for measurement and control of the humidity were not provided in any shop.
The feeding of mammals is done with ready mixtures or with cat foods for the predators, which alone do not ensure a full nutritious diet. In 54% of the cages improper food was provided or there was no food at all. Water was missing in 40% of the cases.
The social needs of the animal (whether the species requires an individual or group care) were not taken into account in 20% of the cases. Only in one shop the pregnant animals were separated from the others. Keeping pregnant specimen and their offspring together with males and older females creates a constant thread for their live. Cases of obvious pregnancy and babies incapable of protecting themselves against trampling or aggression were recorded in 9% of the cases.
The lack of hygiene usually was because of dirty bedding. Such was registered in 38% of the cases. No cages were seen with sharp edges or big openings threatening the safety of the animals. Apart from the aforementioned pregnant animals no other mammal had obvious signs of poor health.
The only case observed of sale of a primate was a young Vervet Monkey Cercopithecus aethipos which was kept in a bird cage with dimensions 50/50/60 cm. Deprived from any shelter from the constant interest of the visitors of the shop the animal was obviously scared. Possibly because of the permanent stress it did not show any reactions to the surrounding environment. The vendors shared that even though its price is very high such monkeys are much sought and for the past two weeks two more specimen were sold.
Having in mind the challenge of huge care and efforts which keeping of primates require, their active behaviour, their inborn aggressiveness characteristic for animals living in hierarchical structure of the social groups in the wild, and their predisposition to human infections (Exotic Bird and Pet Clinik, 2004), we consider these animals absolutely unsuitable for pets. This is why we recommend that the import of primates for sale and keeping as pets is banned.
VIII. OTHER TYPES OF TRADE WITH LIVE ANIMALS
During the survey the methods of trade outside of pet shops were investigated. Unfortunately it turned out that the bigger part of the trade is done that way – at animal markets, trough internet shops, by single purchases trough ads at general and specialized internet forums.
Animal markets in Bulgaria have long traditions. Usually they take place once a week and offer all types of animals, from agricultural animals to exotic reptiles and birds. There the wholesale and retail of exotic animals flourishes at prices much lower than in the pet shops. The price of one chinchilla varies in the range 100-180 BGL, while it can be bought on a market for about 50-80 BGL.
The markets are at open air. This creates worrying situations for the welfare of the animals. In order for one animal to reach the market it is transported in different manners in various containers, in which later is offered to the customers. The consequences of unsuitable ways of transportation are one of the factors which threaten the health condition of the animals. Many of them with higher price or worse appearance make these trips many times.
The market visitors are very diverse. They can vary from small children to people with serious interests in keeping exotic animals. As in the pet shops no minimum age of the buyer is defined which raises the question of the future of the animal after the purchase.
During the market the animals are left at surrounding temperature which varies with the season and in most of the cases is very unsuitable. Even if the vendor feels engagement to the good condition of the animals he cannot provide proper conditions. During the market the animals are not given food or water, in most cases also shelter in order to be visible to the customers.
Serious measures were taken from the state institutions for control of the markets in order to prevent bird flu infection. Still during visits made several times no decrease was noticed in the volume of sales of birds at markets. If representatives of medias or people “who ask too much” appeared most of the animals were hidden in car trunks or other unknown places until the situation was “normalized”. Such markets create prerequisites for administrative violations and stimulate the illegal trade of animals without documents of origin, in bad health and under heavy stress for which examples are provided below. In March in heavy snow and negative temperatures at open market reptiles were offered in plastic containers without any heating sources. In other case a Milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum, of length about 60 cm was given in the hands of any visitor who showed interest. The snake was living in completely empty plastic box with dimensions 30/20/15 cm. Even though there were suspicions of bird flu site at that moment various species of parrots were offered. Many were put in the sun in immediate vicinity to the people. The air temperature was 34°C the cages and the water in them very dirty and the only food – millet. The birds were very despondent and stressed from the attempts of the visitors to touch them trough the bars all of the time. More than 30 red-eared sliders about 4 cm long were sold at very sunny stand at temperature of 32ºС.The size of the terrarium was 40/30/30 cm with less than 3 cm depth of the water area in it. The tortoises were stepping on each other some of them were lying on their backs without being able to turn in a normal position. When the vendor was asked to help them because of the obvious discomfort the animal was feeling he answered “Why don’t you turn them yourself if you care so much?” Two cages with chinchillas were put on a cement path without any shelter. These animals sensitive to high temperatures were left at direct sunlight at temperature 34ºС. The cages were very dirty and overcrowded and the only movement the animals could make was a step or two or had to step on the other chinchillas.
Many exotic species which at the time of observation were not offered at the visited pet shops were offered via Internet which again questions the legal status of the sales. In some cases this trade consists of single act trough general and specialized sites for online sale, trough ads for sale of certain exotic species (including lions and tigers). In other the trade is done trough specialized sites for sale of live animals which promise “even a penguin”. At some of these sites stressing on the sale mainly of animals protected under CITES only mobile phones were given for contacts.
Some Bulgarian sites offer animals from own breeding places with certificates of origin and registration according to the law. The existing forums of animal lovers also publish ads for sale and exchange of exotic animals. There information is available in Bulgarian about care of many species and advice can be sought if needed.
It does not get clear how many of the participants at such forums have acquired their animals legally or have registered them. Apart from that the information found at these forums is reliable and gives points of reference about proper care and eventual problems which the exotic animals may have.
During the observation private collections were visited, mainly of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates showed with commercial purposes. At some of them animals were offered for sale or could be ordered for delivery. In most cases the conditions at these collections were at satisfactory level with normal sizes of the terrariums provided and proper equipment according to the species requirements.
A very controversial collection One of the collections visited had a big diversity of animals exposed from guinea pigs to rarely found species like Mata Mata Chelus fimbriatus and Varan Varanus salvator and many others. It was obvious that initially the animals were provided with the necessary space and equipment. After that it looked like the collection has increased rapidly and the visitors were seeing animals kept in buckets, jars, plastic boxes from ice cream, without anything but the animals in them some left on the ground, some very dusty.
The hygiene was very bad and some of the terrariums with aggressive or poisonous animals were not secured well. A crocodile Crocodilus niloticus 1.70 m long was separated from the visitors by a regular window glass. Florida Soft-shelled Turtle Trionyx ferox was left in a bucket where it could not move at all. The bucket was put on the electrical cables on the floor. Indefinable turtle because of the limited possibility for observation was “stuffed” in a box which could hardly fit it. It was filled with water to a point where the head of the animals was hardly showing out of the water in the free space between the water and the lid and it could hardly breathe. From a conversation of two of the employees at the terrarium it became clear that many of the animals were brought by their owners who could not care for them any more. Maybe the owners of the collection wanted to help the unwanted pets. No matter what the reason was it does not justify the fact that most of the animals were refused basic living conditions which arises doubts about the intentions of the owners. When asked if they sell animals a list of the species available was offered. RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSION A serious part of the animal trade in Bulgaria is at stages which are very hard to be controlled from the relevant institutions. Some of its aspects still remain outside of the legislative framework. During the observation many violations of law were noticed. Some of them were threatening directly the welfare of the animals and their health which are protected by the acting laws. Others were economic violation for personal benefit on account of the animals’ welfare. We attribute these violations to the following factors: Lack of individual responsibility to the animals as living sentient beings In the majority of cases of bad attitude and of deprivation of animals from their natural needs is caused by the fact that many people engaged in sale of exotic species are not aware of their requirements because of lack of training or relevant education. Many specimens are kept “for a short time” by unqualified staff. This leads to bad feeding regimen, many social and health specifics of the species are not taken into account. The result is animal in discomfort or ill, which without veterinarian help cannot be sold because of its unattractive appearance.
The violations done because of this factor are serious violations of the five freedoms principle for animal welfare. Lack of knowledge or ignorance of the legislation Sometimes purposefully the requirements are avoided for keeping of certain species because of the expected short term stay of the animals in the shops. These violations shall be considered much more serious than the ones in the previous paragraph because they are deliberately causing pain, stress, and discomfort to the animals (for example when customers are advised on providing a UV lamp for reptiles when there is no such in the shop itself). Even though such violations are very hard to prove once they are asserted the offenders have to be incapacitated from their rights of keeping animals as a preventive measure against future crimes. The argument that animals are kept in shops only temporarily is completely unacceptable because most of the animals have high prices and there is no guarantee how long exactly the animal will remain in the shop. Depriving any animal of its five freedoms for any period of time is also unacceptable. Even temporary lack of proper food, water, living space and social needs can have a long lasting effect on the condition of the animals. If an owner or a trader is not capable or does not want to provide proper conditions of an animal it shall not be his property. During a visit to a city, municipal centre another visitor told the team that the Blue and Yellow Macaw Ara ararauna has been in the shop for more than a year. The cage was on the floor, which is unacceptable for such birds. The price was 3750 BGL with a leasing option because of its extremely high price. Lack of effective control from the relevant state authorities The lack of effective control arises from the intensive growth of the market and the lack of legislation. The demand for more and more exotic species makes it hard for a customs officer without relevant education to recognize them. The illegal traffic of animals, the lack of a single national CITES register, the lack of knowledge of the customers who can signal the authorities contribute to the situation. The conditions in which the animals are kept are not taken into account as a base for sanctions of the owners on the grounds of the Veterinary act. As it was mentioned above (see Legal framework chapter) an Animal Protection Law is in the Parliament. This Law needs to fill the gaps in the legislation and to increase the social engagement in improving the living conditions of the animals. The efforts shall be directed towards: • Serious control of the animal sources – breeding grounds, international transport, internet trade, animal markets; • Simplification of the procedure for registration of CITES species in order to prevent lack of trust in the state intentions from the owners; • Clear definition of the parameters at which optimum physical and mental health is reached of an animal kept at private homes and insertion of these parameters in the legal documents; • Definition of obligation of owners and employees of pet shops for provision of exact and realistic information about the care of the different species to the potential buyers. In most cases the information given defies the future of the animal; Measures are needed to prevent the stimulation of increased illegal sales. The regulation of rules for animal markets their observance trough strict control, the good knowledge of the society, improvement of the procedure for registration of CITES species and active collaboration of all stakeholders will lead to a general improvement of the commercial climate and more importantly to providing the animals their primordial needs, needs that were given to each animal with its birth, projected by nature long before they were put in a cage. |
