Leading pet shop stops selling animals after welfare pressure

Wyevale Garden Centres say the decision to end the trade at 52 of its 115 outlets across the country represents its desire to be seen as ethical and responsible.

The company began putting up notices about the phased closure of the departments in stores on Thursday.

The decision represents a major U-turn for the business which has sold pets for more than ten years and has recently come under new management.

It coincides with the threat of a boycott campaign from the Animal Aid welfare group which was unhappy at the notion of people buying pets on impulse.

It said there are concerns that thousands of pets picked up alongside potted plants will be abandoned or mistreated and end up in rescue centres.

The move against mass-market pet sales follows a decision by the Focus DIY chain to stop pet sales in 2004, again following pressure from animal welfare groups.

The Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler said: "Offering pets for sale in garden centres and other such outlets cannot help but encourage impulse purchases. These lead to a great many animals being neglected and abandoned."

Animal Aid had made a personal plea to the owners of Wyevale to abandon the trade. They believe that Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist, who recently bought a major stake in Wyevale, was the driving force behind the decision.

Mr Tyler said: "We recently wrote to Sir Tom setting out our concerns. His commitment to ethical conduct is evident from the work his charitable foundation does for some of the most disadvantaged people around the world." The decision was revealed by Wyevale's commercial director, Andrew Livingston, who is part of the company's new management team, in a letter to the welfare group earlier this week.

He wrote: "The new team has been taking a fresh look at all aspects of Wyevale's business, and that includes pets. Following this review, we have decided that we will stop selling live animals in our stores.

"Our main concern is the welfare of the animals in our care and to ensure that they are all placed in suitable homes."

For this reason, the closure of the departments will be phased. Mr Livingston added: "This decision is one of a number of changes at Wyevale recently, and we look forward to building on Wyevale's existing good record of responsible trading practices, whether in relation to pets or to any other areas of proper ethical concern."

Animal Aid congratulated the company. Its director, Mr Tyler said: "We are absolutely delighted with Wyevale's announcement. We commend them for it."

Wyevale stressed it is to continue to selling a wide array of pet accessories. It will also sell both cold water and tropical fish through 18 of its outlets, which is opposed by Animal Aid.

The largest pet chain is Pets at Home.