Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Avoid Amazon Pet Shop

This blog is directed towards residents of Hurghada, however anyone reading this can garner a valuable lesson.

Amazon Pet Shop is located on Sherry Street, near the main road Shara Sheraton that runs directly through downtown Hurghada.

Amazon used to have a twin pet-shop on Shara Central, which thankfully has been shut down.

I have been into this pet shop on a number of occasions, and it seems that every time I go in there, the conditions have worsened. The last time I was in there, I managed to snap some pics with my phone. Apologies for the poor quality, but at least you can see the decrepit conditions that these animals are kept in.

The most egregious abuse of animals I have seen in this shop was a gorgeous 5 month old husky puppy, who was in a crate inside the store. The crate that she was kept in was so small, that she was forced to lie in her own feces and urine. I actually watched her try to find a place to relieve herself that she wouldn't have to step in, and she couldn't. Barely even able to spin circles in her crate, this poor husky was going for a high bid of 7,000 LE (current exchange rate puts that at 1,174 US $). Worse than the fact she was in a crate about 4 times too small for her, was that next to her stood a crate that was MORE than large enough. Inside this crate? A cat. I wish I was joking. When I inquired from the employee in the shop why he didn't move the husky, his response was that "she made too much noise trying to escape from the larger crate." Ok, brilliant, so we'll just keep her in conditions that she can't even move in. No problem right? It took all my self-control not to thump the guy in his head, as he would have deserved.

This picture below shows one of the cages that the dogs are kept in. Although I know that the picture quality make this difficult to see, but what you are seeing inside are FOUR Shepherd pups, plus one Griffon. FIVE DOGS in this small cage. Climbing all over each other in their own excrement. In the cage above them sit two cats, the cream one was a Persian cross, whose eyes had so much gunk around them that she couldn't even open them.

You can see the cage is quite small

4 Shepherd pups and 1 Griffon shoved together

Animal rights groups would swarm into a pet shop in the West if these violations were witnessed. At least 70 percent of the cats that they have for "sale" inside this pet shop are evidently sick. With mucous coming out of their eyes, and clearly lethargic, the employee will actually tell you with a straight face that they are "just tired," and that the problems with their eyes is "not because they are sick, but because they have been sleeping." Walk into this pet shop on any given day, and you will find purebred labs, Belgian shepherd pups, I've even seen a dalmatian for sale inside. All of these purebred dogs will carry a price tag of no less than 3,000 LE (except for the recent batch of shepherd pups which are going for 1,500 LE - guess the market is suffering!). Most of these dogs are the product of breeders, who will recklessly breed any animal that looks pure simply to attach a price tag to its head. I heard of a breeder who lives near me who has pit bull pups for sale. When I asked if they are kept outside, I was told that they are kept in an apartment, with no less than 7 animals inside. Unfortunately I have not been able to personally go and see this apartment, but I dread to think of what it looks like on the inside. It is people like this that are providing this pet shop with their animals for sale, who do not care in the slightest about the health of their animals, it's all about the paycheque at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, for me to go in and actually purchase some of these animals will only further the breeding trade. To actually change these disgusting conditions requires a boycott of Amazon pet shops, and pet shops in similar conditions throughout Egypt.

This poor pup (about 4 months old) didn't even have the
strength to get up and say hi. She's kept leashed like this day and night. 

In addition to a boycott of similar pet shops, it is now the time to work towards implementing legislation in Egypt that will prevent similar shops from cropping up. I am not naive enough to think that this will happen overnight. It will require an education campaign, alongside actual enforcement. It is a long road, but with the increasing activism being witnessed in Egypt these days, it is no longer just a dream but an actual possibility that animals in Egypt may one day be protected.

I have not been able to independently verify this information, however have been told from a number of sources that Amazon pet shop was owned by two European women, one from the UK, and one from Russia. Whether or not they are still in charge, since the end of the revolution, I am not sure. I welcome any hints and/or tips that will help me in firstly figuring out who owns this disgrace of a pet shop, and where they are getting their animals from. Until that point, I urge everyone to BOYCOTT Amazon pet shop.

If you are in Hurghada and are looking for a decent pet shop, I recommend Doolittle Zoo. Located on the road just behind Metro Market on Shara Sheraton, the owner, Mr. Esam, has grown up around animals and you can evidently see inside his pet shop that the animals are well cared for. Yes, he has pups for sale, but they are not caged, they are in their own play pen area, and are evidently healthy. To compare one shop to the other really shows that Amazon is an absolutely disgusting example of a pet shop. Doolittle also offers imported pet products for sale. Mr. Esam is there most days throughout the week, and is always more than willing to offer advice and help with animal issues. I get all of my supplies from Doolittle for Orien :).

10 comments:

  1. OH Suz, I'm so upset about this article!!! Similarly bad conditions in pet stores in Turkey I'm afraid :( and actually, Britain isn't much better as far as puppy mills go.

    Currently watching Animal Rescue from Australia and I swear, some of these owners and store operators should be forced to live in the conditions they keep the animals in!!

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  2. I agree. Imagine telling the employee that he can live in a very small room, and will have to sleep in his own excrement. I'm sure then he would change his tune. Of course, he'd ask for a bigger room. But he'd make too much noise trying to escape!

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  3. If I was to write the government to ask them to change their laws regarding animal welfare, could you please supply me with a name and an address. Can I send a letter in English?

    Thanks
    Sandra
    Victoria, BC, Canada

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  4. Hi Sandra, I am more than willing to help you in any way possible. There are a few animal rights organizations planning to stage a demonstration in front of the Giza Zoo this coming Saturday. They will be presenting to the Zoo and the governorate their demands plus petitions with hundreds of signatures deploring the condition of animals and animal welfare in this country.

    Please feel to email me. And we can communicate this way.

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  5. Hi all, I live in Australia and when I visited Egypt in 2005 with my Egyptian Husband I walked past a few pet shops in Cairo, just looking at those poor animals in the window made me want to cry. I peered into one shop and the smell was unbearable, I also saw these large pups in cages they couldn't turn around in. I thought that no one in Egypt new any better and that it was not there fault because of this, that if they where educated of the proper way to treat animals they would do it wright. Now you have shown me that some people in Egypt do care about the rights of these animals and I am so glad that you are trying to help these poor animals.
    Im so elated, Im sure if you all pull together you can make a huge difference.

    And hopefully when we move there in the future I can walk past or go into a pet shop and not have to feel so angry and disgusted, but proud of the Egyptian people for catching up to the rest of the world when it comes to animal rights.

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  6. Erin I really hope so too. There are so many beautiful animals in Egypt that deserve good homes, and to feel positive interactions with humans. Such blatant cruelty is the result of under-education and lack of funding and awareness. Only by targeting these shops that exhibit such clear neglect, and by avoiding them, can we put them out of business.

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  7. Hi,

    I would like to say: avoid all petshops who sells cats & dogs. Dolittle maybe keep their pets in a better environment- but there are many cases of sick animals from there. Puppies with parvo, stamper and kittens with parasites, earmits and catflu.If we can do something to stop this togheter- i´m in.

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  8. Kindly visit our website www.egypuppy.com, we are the largest pet chain in Egypt and your opinion will be much appreciated , also you can check ou Facebook page on this link http://www.facebook.com/pages/EGY-Puppy/124038057664429.

    Waiting to hear your feedback

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  9. Dear anonymous,

    Thank you for your comment. However, I have to state very clearly here that I do not condone the designer dog trend that is sweeping Egypt, and the increasing problem with breeders.

    Your website claims that you only give to reputable breeders, do you have a way of ensuring that the dog goes to reputable people? I believe that if an individual is purchasing a purebred for a purpose, then that's great. If they are doing it just to have the designer pure bred dog, I highly disagree with this.

    It is over-breeding that is leading to so many strays in Egypt. I saw a PURE BRED Lab puppy abandoned in the street yesterday while out riding.

    If you could clarify your practices, I would be happy to hear that. Then I can give you my full feedback.

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