Take a stand against animal exploitation by pledging to boycott shops that sell animals.

This means only buying your animal care products from shops that do not also sell live animals, and of course only ever adopting animals from rescues. Check that a shop does not sell any live animals ( including mammals, birds, reptiles, inverts and fishes) before purchasing anything.

There are hundreds of shops that sell animal care supplies that have already made the decision to not sell live animals in store. There is a shifting public opinion on how we view and use animals. It is time that all pet shops make the ethical choice to no longer sell animals on the shop floor as if they were objects.

Here are just a few reasons animals should not be sold in shops:

- There have been countless investigations and reports of ill animals in pet shops still on sale for unsuspecting people to buy.

- Pet shops often market animals as 'easy', 'cheap' and 'suitable for children' which encourages impulse purchases by people who have not researched the complex needs of the animals they're buying.

- Ill-equipped purchasers often change their minds about caring for the animal after learning how time consuming and expensive they are, learning the animals behaviours are different than expected, kids lose interest etc. The animals are then either neglected, dumped in the wild or relinquished to rescue shelters.

- Rescue centres are overflowing. Every single rescue is operating at capacity and are unable to take in all of the animals that need a new home. People do not adopt from rescues as it is easier to buy from shops, meaning space is not freed up. Animals that cannot find a space in rescues are eft in dangerous situations.

- Pet shops usually source their animals from intensive breeding farms. Here, animals are kept in squalid conditions where disease and illness spread quickly. Parent animals never leave, and are bred back to back until they die. Babies are separated from their families, packed into boxes and delivered long distances often without food and water.

The pet trade is unfortunately built on exploitation, cruelty and neglect. It operates like any other industry, to make profit and respond to supply and demand.

If we change our shopping habits, they will change their selling habits! It's time we end the sale of animals for good!