Public outcry over hamster promotion leads to halt
By Loh Chee Kong, TODAY | Posted: 13 March 2009 0705 hrs
SINGAPORE: Spend S$35 at a pet shop and you can take a hamster home for free. If you hold a Passion Card – a membership card for grassroots leaders – you only need to spend S$25.
This joint promotion between Pets’ Station and the People’s Association (PA) sparked a public outcry Thursday after a flyer was sent out by email to Passion Card holders.
And in a triumph of civic action, the promotion — due to take place next week at Tiong Bahru Plaza where Pets’ Station has an outlet — was stopped even before it could begin. This was after the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) acted on the complaints.
Readers who wrote to TODAY were particularly disappointed that a government agency had endorsed the promotion, including William Fong, who was “appalled” when he learnt of it through an online forum. He said: “Pets should never be meant as gifts or presents because having a pet is a lifetime responsibility and commitment.”
Another reader, Tan Chek Wee, said he was “deeply shocked and saddened”. Online forum posts described the promotion as “ridiculous”. Said one: “A hamster is very small and puny but it’s still a pet, and should be treated as one … not like a free gift.”
SPCA’s executive officer Deirdre Moss told TODAY the society had received more than 20 email voicing strong objections to the promotion. Besides contacting the AVA, which was “already onto it”, SPCA wrote to the PA to “strongly object to such a practice” and stressed that “pets are living things which shouldn’t be exploited as free gifts for promotional purposes”, said Ms Moss.
Madhavan Kannan, who heads AVA’s centre for animal welfare and control, said the authority had contacted Pets’ Station and “instructed them not to proceed with the promotion”. The pet shop complied.
Reiterating that the AVA bans the sale or gift of animals at exhibitions, Mr Madhavan said this is to prevent impulse buying and subsequent abandonment of pets.
When contacted, Pets’ Station declined to comment as its spokesperson was “unavailable”. On its part, the PA apologised for its “oversight”.
A PA spokesperson told TODAY: “When alerted on the concerns raised on Thursday morning, we immediately withdrew the Passion Card from this promotion, before it could take effect. (We) share the views that pets like hamsters should be cared for by people who are genuinely interested in them.”
Still, Ms Moss gave full marks to the civic action which “resulted in almost instant action by the authorities”. She said: “I was quite stunned and amazed that so many people are speaking up for animals. We are very encouraged that there was so much awareness over an issue like this.”
From the New Paper, 13 March 2009 (Click on article to see in full size)
From Xin Min, 13 March 2009 (Click on picture to see it in full size)
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Shame Shame on PA for having ZERO judgement call on supporting this event and diminishing the awareness campaigns, undermining the promotion effort and money spent on promoting responsible pet ownership.
Think over react liao.. I will definitely support if Pets’ Station will come up with “Free Puppy” with minimum purchase of $10,000 worth of Dog Product. That might help to reduce the irresponsible ownership? How many people can afford that? Is new method isn’t it? Why stick to the old fashion way??
you are entitled to your opinion. There are great marketing campaigns and lousy sales pitches.
BTW, giving free animals is old school and way pass these times.
You want FREE animals? Go to SPCA, and all the shelters to adopt. Google free hamsters and you will find plenty. Don’t need a pet store to do give aways just to increase business.
What’s a good pitch is to get the Pet Store to adopt a shelter and promote the adoption of these animals and then get the adopters to spend at their store.
Takes a lousy sales person to know another.
not true for this trade. if is old way, it will not be in such publicity. me agreed over reaction in regard to this issue
We support you on this one and are in agreement with the newspaper article. Our dad says that the Atrium malls in Singapore don’t have as much space as the big outside strip malls around here so they probbly can’t do this. We have two PetSmart store up in our big city of fredericksburg; one west of the city and one south of the city. Every wekend each of those stores allows a canine adoption agency to set up crates and adoption tables either just outside the door or inside on bad weather days. PetSmart also has a seperate big built-in section with large cat crates where the local adoption agancies can place cats for adoption and the PetSmart people do all the admoinistrative paperwork and fee collection for the adoption agency for free. PetSmart does NOT “sell” cats or dogs just birds, fish, reptiles and rodents. They most certainly don’t give anything away. Your Atrium Stores could give away coupons good towards the adoption of an animal from an approved shelter or adoption agancy. it would be better to help solve pet problems than to create new one. We were wrong before; you guys didn’t do good on this, you did GREAT.
- The Bumpass Hounds
ETA
More negative publicity for Passion Card and Pet’s Station.
it has to be said that Pet’s Station should be gravely censured for coming up with such a promo. what’s more appalling is that they are not just any shop, they are a pet shop, which actually supplies pets and their foods and accessories to the public. if they can treat the hamsters in such a frivolous manner and give them away for a low price, i shudder to think what they will do to the cats or dogs if the business face any dire situations.
Ban Pet’s Station.