My name is Patch and I am a 4 year old guinea pig from Long Eaton, Derbyshire, now living in London.

I am; 

~ Ambassador for Kavee Rescue Guinea Pig Sanctuary,

~Passionate about small animal welfare, and 

~ Want to use my voice to help other animals. 

I want to publicize the unspoken suffering that countless innocent small animals undergo, due to the negligence and irresponsible behaviour of Pets at Home.

Guinea pigs, rabbits and other rodents deserve proper lives, not to be treated as commodities or products. Just like humans, we deserve to receive correct nutrition and medical care.

Very recently, it was in the news that Pets at Home had temporarily stopped selling guinea pigs because of an outbreak of streptococcus. This is certainly not the first time they've had an outbreak.

This infection is usually fatal to guinea pigs. 

When someone takes home a guinea pig with streptococcus, it will most likely be fatal to all the piggies in that household.

My friend Walter, a white, smooth coated guinea pig, almost died from a streptococcus infection. He was left, critically ill, in a box on Kavee Rescue's doorstep. For a long time, we didn't think he'd survive. Our friend Tara, who runs Kavee Rescue, stayed up night after night with him and by a miracle, he survived.

When Pets at Home remove animals from sale, they do not nurse them back to health.

Many guinea pigs are dumped at rescues because of Pets at Home's irresponsible behaviour, doing things like running promotions on animals before Christmas. 

Every year, this results in rescues being overwhelmed with arrivals straight after Christmas, where pets have been unwanted gifts, or replaced with a different animal this year.

Pets at home are completely irresponsible in the way they sell animals. Their practices are responsible for so many small animal rescues being overwhelmed by more of their negligence;

Pets at Home often fail to correctly separate male and female small animals. This results in unexpected litters when someone has bought an animal and taken them home. Yet again, this results in rescues, who rely entirely on donations, being overwhelmed.

I have been into a Pets at Home store and seen that their guinea pig and rabbit enclosures often don't even have hay, contain dried food which is for different animals altogether and often have dirty water bowls.

So many pets bought from Pets at Home are suffering from serious medical and gastrointestinal problems.

Not only do Pets at Home fail to look after animals in their care, but they are negligent in the way they promote unsuitable products. None of the cages for guinea pigs and rabbits sold by Pets at Home qualify as the minimum size acceptable to the RSPCA. 

Guinea pig welfare is of utmost importance to me, but it stretches beyond us, extending to the welfare of all small animals subjected to such conditions. It is alarming to consider the number of lives compromised simply due to the lack of industry regulation and oversight.

The existing situation is nothing but an overlooked loophole in animal welfare laws. We call upon relevant authorities and animal rights organizations to carefully scrutinize and address this negligence. 

This plea is not just from me, one guinea pig, but on behalf of the countless tiny souls who cannot voice their distress. Stop the sale of animals at Pets at Home.

Your signature carries the potential to rewrite the narrative for animal welfare in pet stores - sign this petition to end this chain of negligence and abuse.

Thank you for helping animals like me.

Love Patch X