Retail

Wal-Mart Targeted for 'Horrible' Treatment of Pet Fish

Paul Ausick

Published: June 21, 2016 12:15 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 6:33 am

A group billing itself as a community of 30 million people standing together for good has launched a petition urging Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to cease its current practices of selling live fish. The group, called Care2, is seeking 160,000 signatures on a petition to Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon.

The petition cites a Wal-Mart sales associate who said that stores keep the fish on the shelves “until they sell or die,” and notes that if puppies or kittens were being kept in these conditions, “Walmart would be shut down and fined for animal cruelty.”

The petition text reads:

Dear Mr. Mcmillon [sic], I urge you to stop selling fish in horrific conditions in Walmart stores. The stores are not equipped to deal with the needs of these animals, and upgrades should be made to improve the living conditions of the animals. The Bettas are stacked on a shelf — the dead among the living that are barely moving. The tiny containers are filthy and don’t have filters. And fish could be stacked one on top of another so the fish at the bottom don’t even get air. If these were the conditions under which puppies or kittens were being sold, Walmart would be shut down and fined for animal cruelty. Why should it be any different just because these are fish? [Your comments here] As someone who cares about animals, I urge you to immediately improve the living conditions of pet fish in all Walmart stores by giving them full tanks with filters and proper care. Sincerely, [Your name here]

According to the Care2 website, the petition has collected 153,730 supporters to date.