A key bottom line reality of ANY retail store is 'sales per foot'- how much money is the place bringing in compared to how large it is?
Big backrooms, break rooms, offices, etc. have been eliminated in recent years so more sales space can be added. Shelves get higher and higher and aisles get narrower and narrower because it improves the sales per foot. Wonder why your store's aisles run so oddly? Probably because a store planner figured it adds sales per foot. Dump bins in aisles, sales tables in odd corners, cardboard displays all over the place all add to the sales per foot idea.
When it comes to live animals- same thing. The more space they offer, the higher the overhead. In most situations, the animals do not LIVE in those conditions for long- they are usually bought rather quickly... or they stop carrying that type of animal.
It would be tough to prove that the animals are stressed by this- especially compared to the stresses of being shipped, handled, transferred to the new owner, etc.
Note, however, that I am not claiming it is right or humane.
Big backrooms, break rooms, offices, etc. have been eliminated in recent years so more sales space can be added. Shelves get higher and higher and aisles get narrower and narrower because it improves the sales per foot. Wonder why your store's aisles run so oddly? Probably because a store planner figured it adds sales per foot. Dump bins in aisles, sales tables in odd corners, cardboard displays all over the place all add to the sales per foot idea.
When it comes to live animals- same thing. The more space they offer, the higher the overhead. In most situations, the animals do not LIVE in those conditions for long- they are usually bought rather quickly... or they stop carrying that type of animal.
It would be tough to prove that the animals are stressed by this- especially compared to the stresses of being shipped, handled, transferred to the new owner, etc.
Note, however, that I am not claiming it is right or humane.
