DailyHamster / CC

OK, so a bit of good news for bunnies. For years, PETA has been pushing PETCO to end the sale of animals in its stores. This week, the company finally announced that it will no longer sell rabbits in it stores. The phase-out begins immediately. By early 2009, the only rabbits at PETCO will come from animal shelters or rescue organizations. Mad props to the House Rabbit Society, whose efforts helped make this happen!

This is an important step in the right direction, because dogs and cats aren't the only animals left homeless in mass numbers by breeder- and "pet" industry–driven overpopulation. Rabbits are often bought on the spur of the moment—especially at Easter—by people who are unprepared for the huge responsibility of caring for them. By working with shelters and rescue societies to adopt rabbits instead of selling them, PETCO has joined a number of other companies that have already made the responsible decision not to add to the bunny overpopulation crisis.

But still …

PETCO, like PetSmart, continues to sell countless other animals who are bred, born, and warehoused in cruel animal mills such as Rainbow World Exotics (RWE). We met with PETCO last January before breaking our RWE investigation to show its representatives footage of the horrific conditions we found during our investigation at RWE. Though PETCO pledged to make some improvements, it continues to buy small animals from RWE.

RWE and other suppliers are so awful, and animal shelters and rescues are bursting at the seams with animals of all shapes and sizes. We hope that PETCO will continue to move in the right direction and soon stop selling all animals in its stores—and that PetSmart, Petland, and others will follow in PETCO's footsteps.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Yesterday, U.S. marshals paid the PETCO food-distribution center in Joliet, Illinois, a little visit—to confiscate a variety of pet food products that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fears may have been contaminated by rodents and other animals. It does beg the question: If a company isn't even capable of keeping food clean and safe, how are they going to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals they sell in their stores?! Cans are simple inanimate objects ....

This seizure comes after two earlier inspections this spring at the major distribution center found "widespread and active rodent and bird infestation."

The FDA urges anyone who has purchased canned or glass containers at PETCO stores in the states served by this center to wash the outside thoroughly and to wash their hands with soap and water. Don't worry, though—only a few areas were affected … just Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Kansas. Oh, right, and also Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, and Minnesota. Oh, wait, sorry, I forgot to mention Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. OK, so it's a big freakin' deal! Way to set the bar, PETCO.

This certainly isn't the first time that PETCO has been called out for their disgusting business practices.

PETCO has a history of selling live animals and contributing to the demand of live-animal factories, including massive breeding mills like Rainbow World Exotics (RWE), which, like puppy mills, churn out animal after animal in filthy, hazardous conditions without giving much thought to their health or well-being. PETCO stood by RWE vigorously when PETA shared with PETCO executives its findings of terrible animal suffering at the mill—and it continues to buy animals from RWE! The company doesn't care about "its" animals or your animals; it cares about MONEY.

If you care about animals, don't shop at PETCO (or any store that sells live animals!).

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

After lengthy discussions with PETA, PETCO has announced that it will reduce the number of animals for sale in its stores nationwide by 30% and revamp its live-animal vendor certification standards to improve conditions at all of its pet suppliers, starting with Rainbow World Exotics (RWE) in Hamilton, Texas.

At RWE—a hellish facility that breeds and brokers tens of thousands of animals who will be sold at pet stores, including PETCO and PetSmart—PETA found abuse and neglect of small animals and birds, including the following:

•Rabbits were neutered by an employee using a dull razor and Clorox wipes on the animals' open incisions. One improperly anesthetized rabbit kicked and struggled during the surgery.

•Live hamsters, rats, and mice were dumped into trash cans, and animals were thrown against the floor in an attempt to kill them.

•Many animals were denied veterinary care, including a baby Goffin's cockatoo named Angel, who Jack told you about in January; ferrets with rectal prolapses; and a guinea pig with a broken hip.

Watch the video posted below for more details on the horrors uncovered in the investigation, and check out the piece from the Today show, where the story broke nationally.

Change is good, but we wish that PETCO would have done even better and kissed its relationship with RWE goodbye. Says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch, "It is astounding that an abusive mill like RWE can still call the nation's two largest pet supply companies its customers." She continues, "The decisions by PETCO and PetSmart not to cut ties with RWE make it clear that to them, the bottom line is far more important than ensuring that tens of thousands of animals avoid pain and suffering. PETA wants consumers to know that animals do not generally fare well in the pet trade. Animal shelters and pounds are the place to go when you are ready to offer a loving, responsible home to an animal."

I couldn't agree more. If you care about animals, don't buy from stores that sell animals.

For what you can do to help, click here.

-Amy