Please email Trago

Jolovesbunnies emailed me earlier to tell me that a mutual friend of ours has seen Trago selling rabbits and other small animals. I am appalled by this. I am going to past in my email to them below that outlines my concerns and if you agree I hope you might contact them as well. As previously discussed trago buys in cheap and sells on cheap. Some of the hutches I have seen them sell over the years have been the tiniest of the tiny. Really Trago shoppers would benefit most from a minimum size law as they can be opportunistic in their purchases looking at price not size.

'I have heard from a friend that you have started to sell live animals at your stores. I would like to register my concern about this. In particular I am concerned about you selling rabbits. I have shopped in Trago regularly all my life (32yrs) and I have never seen you sell appropriatly sized rabbit hutches in the pet section. The animal welfare act says that rabbits should be able to take at least 3 hops in their hutch, this has led to recommendations from the Rabbit welfare association and the RSPCA that rabbit hutches should be at least 6ftx2ftx2ft with a run of at least 8ft length. I know the livestock/laboratory regulations are less than this but who would choose to keep their pets in lab conditions? I feel by selling rabbits and such small hutches you are promoting keeping rabbits in this way. If you doubt the detriment to the welfare of the rabbits kept in these conditions I suggest you talk to the RSPCA rescue centre at St. Columb or the Animals in distress centre at Ipplepen both of which I know have had to treat rabbits who have been kept in these conditions. I ideally I would like you discontinue sell ing animals altogether - it is a regressive step when many garden centres have chosen not to sell animals and support rescues. I would also urge you to talk to the rescue centres about the numbers of rabbits they are seeing coming in - uk wide there has been an increase of about 2000 rabbits being given up or dumped in the past 12 months. I would urge you to consider the extra pressure you will be putting on the animal charities in the south west. '

Trago selling animals?!

I know they sell everything, but that is a step too far!! Which stores are doing so? Falmouth thankfully just doesn't have the space!! Also where are you sending the letter? Newton abbot or liskeard?

Very well put letter! I will try send one too but I'm rubbish at writing letters!!

I sent an email and ticked all the stores box all the stores. I quoted st columb and ipplepen rescues as I know they are the local rescues to Liskeard and Newton Abbot.

Ahh ok I will do that too! I think to be honest they are also the closest rescues to me too! I don't know of any others in Cornwall! That take rabbits anyway!

I didn't know what trago was. I had to look it up

Them selling animals is wrong on so many levels. We're trying to stamp out these idiot shops selling animals and another one comes along!!!

Thumper2001 wrote:I didn't know what trago was. I had to look it up

Them selling animals is wrong on so many levels. We're trying to stamp out these idiot shops selling animals and another one comes along!!!

i didnt know too

Have they got a license to sell livestock now then?

Father Jack wrote:Have they got a license to sell livestock now then?

how do you find out if they have? they wouldn't exactly tell you if they didn't!! I know someone who works in Trago and the owner of Trago is a shareholder at my work so maybe I will try find something out!!

lizzi_b wrote:

Father Jack wrote:Have they got a license to sell livestock now then?

how do you find out if they have? they wouldn't exactly tell you if they didn't!! I know someone who works in Trago and the owner of Trago is a shareholder at my work so maybe I will try find something out!!

They should have it on display at the store by law.

I have looked around a bit. It is the Newton Abbott store. Someone on another forum had approached the local council so I assume the license is in order.

Its worth bringing this to the notice of RWAF too, they may also get in touch.

I will be emailing them!

This is our chance to make a difference hoppers!

I have asked the RWAF via their FB page.

I've PM'd them too.

Fab work Katie and Cheryl!!

Cheryl is it worth mentioning to the rescues and see if they can complain too? They can tell them first hand why it is wrong!!

I might put that to my friend - her buns always come from the Ipplepen rescue.

Thanks Katie for bringing this to me (sorry, not getting notifications of pms so have just seen the message)

Okay, a few things

All shops that sell pets have to have a licence to do so from their local council, so if you can't get any joy, approach the council, often Envirnmental Health dept or something of the sort. It varies from one council to another. Ask the council to inspect the conditions in the shop etc. If the shop is in fear of losing its licence then it should buck up its ideas.


Unfortunately, the Animal Welfare Act DOES NOT say that a rabbit should be able to take 3 hops in its hutch. The Welsh Assembly guidelines (this is not law, only recommendations) say so and certainly the RWAF says so, but unfortunately the law doesn't. When CASC (govt agency on which we sit), following a very great deal of hard work and input from various agencies including RWAF and the RSPCA, had the opportunity to copy the Welsh guidelines they said that what was in place was tightly enough worded. RWAF will refrain from publicly commenting on that.

The guidelines that are in place in England to advise petshops and their licensing local authorities, have been in place for many years and are very vague, but they do exist. DEFRA has this to say http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/welfare/act/secondary-legis/petsales_fairs.htm

Pet sales and pet fairs

Whilst it is the government’s intention to review the legislation that regulates the business of selling pet animals, including at pet fairs, we cannot give any precise date as to when this may occur.

Page last modified: November 13, 2009
Page published: April 4, 2007

Southampton Licensing Authority (for example) is perhaps more helpful and quotes the current national regulations http://www.southhams.gov.uk/index/business_index/ksp_licensing/licensing-animal_licensing/sp-licensing-petshopslicence.htm It's long so I won't quote it here.

I do encourage everybody to write. We need to work together to try to get shops to be more responsible, but we do need to include accurate information and to be aware that there are fewer things than we'd like in legislation that support what we know to be right.

Given that RWAF, Blue Cross and the PDSA are all giving the same or at least very similar messages, we can only hope that when the RSPCA's study is published very soon, it also gives the same message and that the powers that be will be swayed to build more stringent regulations. Until then, though, all the tools we have are our collective voices and our spending power - withdrawing it, and leaving businesses in no doubt as to why.

Thanks for the reply - I have yet to have any reply from the store. Unfortunately I am not surprised by this.