This is a little difficult to reply to.
But nonetheless I'll try (and probably fail haha).
While disagreements and discussions are riveting, there is a set in stone fact here.
If you purchased a hamster (instead of adopting) you don't deserve one - opinion.
Rodent mills exist - fact.
Purchasing a hamster encourages more breeding in rodent mills - fact.
Purchasing a hamster, knowing it comes from a mill, is still enouraging the mill even if you did it with good intentions - fact.
It really is just cut and dry. The issue is people refuse to acknowledge it. They'd rather play the hero than the villain. If you quite frankly just don't care where your pets come from because it doesn't personally affect *you* then Okay! Own up to it! Props to you and mad respect for owning up to it.
I think you guys are crying the victim a little too much. No one is shaming anyone. Unless I missed those posts while skimming, in which case point me at 'em.
They're just stating facts.
A hamster is a want, not a need - fact.
You will survive and live a full life without a hamster - fact.
These are stone cold facts. They really just are. There's no around it. No one is shaming anyone. You all are running away from yourselves.
Imagine you're in school taking a test. One question is: what is 2 + 2? And you say: 8. The teacher labels it as wrong and you then go on and say "um,no. We're all entitled to our opinions. Don't shame me."
That's not shaming you lol. That's just telling you you're wrong. In which case you would be because 2+2 is most certainly not 8. Shaming you would be if someone is all "OMG you're stupid. How did you even get this far you're such an idiot it's not 8 you goof oh my goodness what even are you?!" At which point the person is just a jerk.
People should be more tolerant. And more open minded. Research mills. Research how it works. If you already know how it works and just don't care, then own up to it.
Oof really not trying to get involved in the argument too much here, but I find this ideology to have a few loopholes. I believe that purchasing a hamster from a breeder or independently owned petshop is fine as well as all of the options you listed in your previous response. Where do you think "adoptable" hamsters from shelters come from? They have to be born. Lots of them are petshop rejects or accidental litters. If people only rehomed and rescued hamsters ...there wouldn't be any hamsters left. Purchasing a hamster from a independently owned petshop or breeder ensures the flow of acessable hamsters, to allow people options outside of petshops. I might be misinterpreting your argument here, so if you're only referring to chains, basically just ignore this first part.
As well as this, I really think you should reconsider the significance of one hamster to these mills. The majority of people have access to shelters/breeders. I agree, there's not really a valid excuse for them to buy a hamster from a chain pet store. However, a minority of people cant access these. (obviously.) These are often people who live in more rural areas. A hamster usually sells for under 50 cents from a mill. Even if one buys 10 hamsters, that's still only 5 bucks. These mills are going to be supported anyway, hamsters basically fly off of pet store shelves. Would you rather them be all bought by careless parents and 3 year olds, or somebody who actually cares about hamsters but doesn't have another choice?
People want to adopt hamsters. And for those who only have chains around them, they should definitely try to see if there are any "back-room" hams they could adopt. I think that individuals who don't have an option of adoption or rescue near them shouldn't be """shamed""" (note the quotations) for buying from stores, because the amount of people who don't have access to any other places to get hamsters are such a ridiculously small minority anyways.
Anyways, before I leave, provoking this thread once again, I have one more thing to add. I really think that your arguments would be taken into higher consideration if you were... idk, a little bit less passive aggressive. I completely understand why you would feel passionate about this, its a pretty heated topic, but you should keep a cooler head to make your argument sound more professional. I also find the "test" example to be quite a bit confusing. This is more of a moral debate, not really a set-in-stone issue. It cant really be compared to the rhetorical examples of "right" and "wrong" like the one you listed. There is no black and white (well, aside from the fact that we all know the basics that "mills are bad"). Keep in mind nearly everybody on this thread wants to find a solution to the issue, this isn't that much of a "factual" debate. (yet again, leaving out the obvious examples of the statistics of mills and the such) Your arguments are valid and actually incredibly sound, but things such as "You all are running away from yourselves" and "That's just telling you you're wrong" sort of.. devalue them? I actually have pretty similar opinions on the issue, but I definitely think that there isn't a "correct" or "incorrect" answer to it. Another thing you implied in your response is that people who know about mills and continue to buy from stores "don't care" about the animals well-being? Most people who buy from stores are not proud of it, and would much rather get their hamsters from an ethical source. Chains are usually a last resort to people.
Ok ok one last thing that you wrote: "People should be more tolerant. And more open minded." I think that people are. As I mentioned above, nobody really wants to purchase hamsters from stores. Most people on this forum don't. Nearly everybody knows that mills are often horrific places. This thread is basically just people trying to find solutions to a common problem.
(Oof I know this response sucks, so don't take anything I say into really deep regard.)
Edited by Pixl, 20 April 2018 - 07:36 AM.
