All you have to do is fill in the required information and the letter PETA has drafted will go to Mr. Phillip L. Francis, Chairman and CEO of PetSmart. http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/petsmart_rabbit_cruelty?c=weekly_enews

PETA also held a protest outside PetSmart Inc.'s north Phoenix headquarters today. (Thursday, Aug. 30th) There's no need for rabbits to be bred and sold while perfectly adoptable ones are being destroyed simply because there aren't enough good homes.

Dear Mr. Francis,

I was appalled to learn that PetSmart has recently begun "test-selling" rabbits in its stores. In addition to adding to the serious problem of rabbit overpopulation, PetSmart is reneging on its commitment not to sell certain animals, including dogs, cats, and rabbits. If PetSmart is a company that, according to its own Web site, considers caring for pets "a moral obligation and responsibility," how do you justify contributing to the breeding and selling of bunnies (or any other animals, for that matter) - who suffer and must be euthanized in shelters nationwide, just as dogs and cats are - to be either moral or responsible?

Rabbits are the third-most surrendered companion animals in the U.S., after cats and dogs. PetSmart's reckless decision will condemn countless homeless rabbits to death. Please halt your plans to sell rabbits. I will not shop at PetSmart, and I will be sure to tell all my friends and family members to do the same.

Sincerely,
Carmina Gooch
North Vancouver, BC

PetSmart's reply:

Thank you for contacting PetSmart Customer Care.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting PetSmart Customer Care.

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us regarding our test of dwarf rabbit sales in our stores. Your feedback is important to us and we're taking it seriously.

This particular test only involves about 25 of our more than 900 stores and is likely to hold at this level until we have more information. We conduct in-store tests to get a real-world view of all the issues related to the sale of a particular pet before we do anything more. During this test we're collecting additional data and information related to breeding, health and care, associate training, retention, customer satisfaction, adoption vs. sales, population and all other aspects related to sale of these pets. We carefully test concepts to make sure the best interests of the pet, the Pet Parent and our business are served.

We have received letters and phone calls from various animal welfare organizations including the House Rabbit Society as a result of this test. Because the HRS's letter addresses a number of concerns that also have been voiced by other groups and individuals, has been widely circulated, and serves as the basis for many of the letters we have received, we have posted both it and our response online at www.petsmartfacts.com. We encourage you to visit this site to read our response and for more details about this test.

If we choose to expand the test or to eventually implement rabbit sales throughout our system, it will be only after we are convinced that we have a full understanding of all the issues and that we can provide this pet to homes in a responsible and ethical manner.

Importantly, during this test we will continue as we have always done to partner with qualified local rescue organizations that adopt out rabbits and other pets in our stores. We expect nothing to change in this regard no matter what the test's outcome.

We share your passion for pets and want to assure you we'll do what's right for our Pet Parents and their pets. Thanks again for sharing your concerns with us.

Sincerely,

PetSmart Customer Care