Even thought the SPCA is not and should not become a retail outlet for animals, some care should be taken to display the animals in a more attractive way. Marketing studies have proven that people assign value to something by the manner of its appearance. The SPCA clearly limits the value that can be assigned to shelter animals via this process by the way they are shown. In addition to this issue, with respect to the rodents: sometimes the rodents are kept in ad-hoc cages that are far too small for their size, this is cruel and unnecessary.
This conflicts with the SPCA Code of Ethics: Point 1)
Solution: Make an effort to clean up the viewing areas, many stacks of supplies and equipment clutter vacant corners and the desk in the cat room is always in a state of disarray. Shelving could be installed for the rodents allowing for an increased number of larger cages.
Symptoms: This sends a bad message to the public and serves to add to the unorganized image of the SPCA facility. The small cages for the rodents mislead the public that view them by inferring that this size of cage is acceptable for such an animal.