Ban Sale & Use Of Live Feeder Animals In Philadelphia

Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group would like to see a ban of the sale and use of live animals to be used as snake / herptile food within the city of Philadelphia.

We feel that the use of live animals as feed is cruel,  detrimental to society, the pet stores who sell them and ultimately the snakes themselves.

The following is a list of our assertions and reasons we feel this ban is needed.

I.        The feeding of live animals perpetuates violence in the human species.

      A.            Most herptile owners are respectable people and care deeply for their companion animals and already practice "kill first" feeding method.

There is however a large number of persons that have snakes not for their love of the species but for the sole purpose of watching them consume live animals. Often these owners are adolescents or adults that have not come to the conclusion that this live feeding is wrong.

     B.            These owners will share the feeding experience with peers and younger siblings and will justify the act as "Nature Way". This empowers the owner to devalue the feeder animal and plants the seeds of apathy with the spectators.

Once a person learns to devalue any creature that person has the means to devalue any species including the human animal.

II.      The feeding of live animals is cruel and inhumane.

      A.            The death of a feeder animal in the mouth of a snake is the most violent death one might imagine. This death is slow and painful and is contrary to the claims of a fast almost painless death portrayed by many herptile owners. The feeder animal is tossed into the snake enclosure and it instinctively knows a predator is present and frantically attempts to find a safe place to hide.

     B.            Most snakes which are kept as pets are constrictors. In this method of killing prey, the snake will seize the animal in its jaws and very quickly wrap its body into a series of coils which envelop the prey, squeezing it with powerful muscles. Contrary to what many people believe, a constricting snake does not crush its prey to death; rather, the snake will tighten its coils every time the prey animal exhales, which squeezes the prey's chest tighter and tighter until it can no longer inhale and smothers.

This suffocation usually takes between 3 to 5 minutes and the animal is conscious about 75% of that time. To get an idea of how that must feel try holding your breath for three minutes.

     C.            The practice of live feeding is not much different than dog or cock fighting both of which are considered to be cruel and illegal. Additional references to a past sport of Rat-baiting could also be made.

III.    Pet Stores that sell live feeder animals are negatively impacted.

      A.            The cost of selling feeder animals often outweighs the profit made on that sale. Most stores only sell feeders to support the customers who purchase herptiles. Stores make money selling pets, supplies and accessories. The cost of maintaining, feeding and caring for live feeder animals is massive in comparison to the cost of frozen feed stock. Most stores would happily switch to selling frozen feed stock if the customer would accept that product as a viable food source.

     B.            Pet Stores are forced to adopt a multi class culture for the care of companion vs. feeder animals. As the feeder animal is considered disposable it is difficult for any store owner to justify spending "companion pet funds" for the care of these animals and as a result the feeder animals are maintained in horrid conditions and are often kept away from public view. Many feeder animals live in small crowded cages and receive only the basic food and water needed to keep them alive. Medical care is nonexistent and often whole groups of animals become sick and must be disposed of thus impacting the stores profit.

     C.            Pet Stores are forced to acquire feeder stock from the most cost effective source. Often the feeder stock comes from Small Animal Mills akin to Puppy Mills where they are kept in poor conditions and receive only the basics needed to survive. This further perpetuates the plight of feeder animals.

     D.            Pet Store Employees are forced to perpetuate this multi class culture of companion vs. feeder animals. Many employees are young adults and these practices impart a message of apathy and intolerance toward the feeder species that further exacerbates their plight. What message are we sending to these young people and the future?

IV.    Herptile owners are unknowingly negatively impacted by live animal feeding.

      A.            The maintenance, feeding and care of live feeder animals detracts from the time and money the keeper has to expend on their companion herptile. Again the cost of keeping live food is massive in comparison to keeping a frozen feed product.

     B.            Herptile owners must adopt a multi class culture for the care of companion vs. feeder animals like the pet store. This forces the owner to devalue the feeder species to justify the disparate care.

     C.            Herptile owners perpetuate the problem by exposing others to their method of animal care and thus teach others that this is "normal".

V.      Live animal feeding is hazardous to the herptiles.

      A.            Placing a live and scared rat in a cage with a snake can be as dangerous for the snake as it is for the rat. There are hundreds of posts on message boards and warnings by the dozen on web sites about the feeder animals inflicting mortal wounds on their attacker.

Allowing live feeding is placing the herptiles life in jeopardy.

     B.            Live feeder animals may contain disease or parasites that are unknowingly passed on to the herptile. The herptile may become sick or even die often without the owner understanding the source of the illness. There are numerous Veterinary warnings about the risk of feeding infected animals to herptiles.

VI.    Herptile Owners perpetuate the myth that animals must eat live food.

      A.            Many owners are fooled into believing that their herptiles must have live feed to survive. There are hundreds of outlandish claims on message boards in support of this cruel practice. Actual scientific evidence indicates that feeding frozen feed is healthiest.

     B.            There are many additional myths used to support live feeding.

One is that herptiles must hunt for their food to be able to survive. It is common knowledge that herptiles will "hunt" pre-killed prey.

It is not natural to feed a snake (or rodent-eating lizard) pre-killed prey. (Keeping the herptile in captivity isn't natural!) In the wild herptiles often consume deceased animals they may find.

The amounts of myths are endless and all are debunked by reputable herptile care guides.

We at Rat Chick Rat Rescue feel these points make a strong case, not just from the rat's perspective, to consider the banning the sale and use of live feeder animals. We are willing to make every effort possible to see this ban come to fruition and would be grateful for any support you could offer toward this goal.