So for a while now ive been stopping by a local store that sells reef snails and fish for tanks/whatever. I have about 200 shells just from what they dump behind the store into the gravel by the dumpster/side door. I was wondering if it was dramatic of me to be pissed off at the guy that owns this store for how many shells/fish I find consistently in the gravel outside. I haven’t said anything to him nor said anything to anyone except my dad and I have absolutely no idea what stores normally do or why he would be dumping them outside like this. I know for a fact the owner is a veteran and has a few small kids but I also notice every time he promotes a new sale or new "stock" on his Facebook I find way more shells the following week. How do you go about this situation? I dont want to shut him down since he is a vet with kids to feed but I still believe this is ridiculously disrespectful to the fish and crabs and snails that provides his business and life with the funds to live. I dont know how really to explain it other than that. yes ive found live fish but its freezing here and has been cold since October so I haven’t found any live animals since the summer. I have more videos if anyone cares.
Where’s the interpersonal conflict?
>I dont want to shut him down since he is a vet with kids to feed but I still believe this is ridiculously disrespectful to the fish and crabs and snails
I’m sorry – are you seriously under the impression that a business could be shut down because some random person thinks they’re being disrespectful to *fish*?
YTA for this post. You’re not even asking to be judged for a potential AH conflict – you’re just whining about something you don’t like.
I mean if he’s just tossing live animals out back and letting them suffer / die on the pavement, this is animal abuse. Just because they’re fish or snails doesn’t mean they don’t matter like cats or dogs. I’m glad OP seems to give a shit about the animal’s well-being.
But OP still hasn’t said anything about what they’re doing in response. They keep talking about possibly getting this man fired or shut down — *how*? What is OP doing that they think will make that happen?
We’re supposed to judge whether OP is an AH, but OP is just narrating a story about something they don’t like, but they don’t appear in the story other than as the person who sees this.
Given that OP mentions saltwater snails, it’s probably an aquarium shop. Im going to go out on a limb here and assume the clientele wouldn’t be too happy to know the animals are being mistreated- even if they’re “just *fish*”.
My point isn’t that they’re ‘just fish’.
It’s that OP hasn’t once mentioned what they did. Or are planning to do.
They talk about maybe getting the guy fired or the store shut down, but never says *how*. What has OP actually done that we are supposed to judge here?
NTA but how many animals is he dumping over what span of time, and are you sure he’s tossing live animals out to suffer or are they already dead? 200 shells might be a lot over a short span or maybe not. It’s possible he’s got a bad shipment and they were dead on arrival, it’s possible there was a screw up with a tank and accidentally killed a bunch, he might just toss the occasional dead animal out back and they’ve accumulated over time. At best he’s taking care of the animals properly and disposing of them poorly, at worst this is animal abuse and a very poorly ran pet store. I’d gather more evidence and maybe talk to him personally before getting pissed or writing bad reviews. Either way thanks for caring about the animals! I hate how people think fish / snails / other small animals don’t matter or feel pain.
NTA. This could be illegal in your area, especially if the critters in question are invasive to your area. Than, yeah… report him. We have enough ecosystems being destroyed because of invasive species. He should know better and if he doesn’t, it’s his responsibility to learn about proper practices.
Is this even real? Why would the shop owner not bag then put in the dumpster? Especially if it could get them in trouble in some way.