Why is breeding gerbils looked down upon?

[jellypastries]

I created this forum account to ask this question. I don't mean any harm with this question, I'm really genuinely curious. I was looking into breeding gerbils for multiple reasons, but now I'm not so sure. The reasons were: I have a lot of experience owning gerbils as companions currently and in the past, they have been my all time favorite pets and I loved them all dearly. I've advocated for their proper care ever since I got my first pair when I was very young. I have multiple empty tanks, ample space, and time. I work from home, so I'm here most of the time to care for them. I have steady income and a vet I already am well acquainted with. I've got a decent understanding of genetics and had planned to be breeding for good temperament, health, and socializing them properly. I did a lot of research in books and websites, mulled it over, and decided I would probably give it a go soon. I knew I would make little to no profit and would likely even lose money on it, but the money wasn't the main reason. I wanted the experience of ethically breeding (caring for them properly, not too many litters at once/to one female, ensuring they go to good homes, etc) and I thought it would be doing a good thing. I've met, spoken to, and even bought from other small animal breeders in the past and I always believed it was doing good as long as it was ethical. I have a passion for gerbils and was planning on testing one litter to ensure homes would actually be available for them while being aware I may have to keep and house them myself if it didn't work out.

Those are all the reasons I was planning on it. Until now. I was pretty much set on doing it until I looked up some forums and this subreddit and saw people were mostly negative about breeding them. I tried to pinpoint why but I couldn't figure it out. Rats, mice, and hamster breeders seemed to have positive reception. What I'm asking is, what's wrong with it? If there is something I can't remedy, I would 100% not do it. After all, it's all about the animal for me. I'm just wondering why exactly. Thank you in advance, I very much appreciate it!!

[LilyandDaisy]

Hello,

I think it really depends where you ask, as well as the individual you ask - but often particular forums or groups will tend to favour one viewpoint. Some groups definitely lean more towards an anti-breeding stance.

Personally, I am somewhat sceptical of a lot of the anti-breeding sentiment because it seems to be based on the idea that there are enough gerbils in the world already and we shouldn't be creating more, however I don't believe there is a numerical overpopulation of gerbils, at least not in the UK where I am. The problem is almost entirely the pet shops who sell gerbils without imparting the correct knowledge on how to care for them, who missex them so people have accidental litters, and so on.

If all gerbils were ethically bred, there would be much less need for rescues. Obviously adopting from rescues is a great thing to do and I think everyone should consider it (although there is nothing wrong with deciding to adopt from a breeder in the end), but ultimately if we managed to adopt out all the rescue gerbils in the world, it wouldn't solve the the problem of mass breeders and pet shops. We can adopt out all the gerbils in the world and there will soon be more to take their places. Whereas, if nobody bought gerbils from pet shops, and everybody got them from either rescues or ethical breeders, it would go a long way to solving the problem. It isn't a numerical problem, it's a systemic problem, and I think people miss that when they insist that gerbils shouldn't bred while there are gerbils in rescues. To me, it's like focusing all your energy on bailing the water out of the boat and ignoring the gaping hole in the hull that's letting all that water in.

Some people are anti-breeding because they don't believe small animals such as gerbils should have been taken from the wild and domesticated in the first place. I can understand that viewpoint and think it's a consistent and logical one to hold, even though I don't share it myself.

I don't think breeding gerbils is unethical, but there are ethical and unethical ways to do it. Not everyone should breed, and in an effort to discourage irresponsible breeding, it's possible to come across as quite anti-breeding, without necessarily being so. However you sound like you have thought it out very carefully and understand what's involved.

[betty]

I certainly agree with the above - breeding is certainly tarnished by the actions of a few more vocal or visible breeders (the pet trade) and this can cast a long shadow. I also find in addition to this that a lot of veterinary practices aren't skilled or (sadly even) interested in small animals and only see the tail end of things overall (ie small animals at the very worse end of the health scale) or not see any at all - and so are quick to assume that they are - as a group - less cared for than some of the larger pets. The phrase 'why would you even bother' certainly comes up a lot (even though of course in the bigger picture - why would you take a healthy animal to the vets to show them the healthy side of small animals?).

Additionally, overall - at least in the UK - many national/international animal charities are very anti-breeding because they are actually anti pet-keeping. They don't believe in keeping any animal in captivity (be in lion or lizard) at all, and so breeding them = more people keeping them. It goes without saying - ultimately - that NOT breeding animals will eventually mean 'no pets at all' - which would make these charities (who spend millions saving and caring for sick, injured and tortured pets/animals) very happy indeed.

However, more realistically, are people (breeders) who want to learn more about animals - including overal lifespan and health - so keeping and breeding animals is the only way to do that inclusively. I personally spend a lot of time keeping records and producing information to share with other keepers and so feel that my learning is of some benefit to the fancy and other keepers - however, I can see that this is only needed if people actually want to keep gerbils and look after them with the gerbil's interests at heart. Keeping and breeding gerbils without any of this information can and does happen of course - but as said above - it is more about the decisions of the people buying them that is what matters.

If people want to 'buy a gerbil today' then all the thought and attention caring breeders put in place is made redundant as they can buy one (unfortunately sometimes one) anywhere - instantly. It is the market that allows for this impulse animal purchase that is causing most of the issues we see in rescues today. For example right now in the UK there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many rabbits in rescues and waiting to go into rescues that several rescues are literally petitioning the government and large pet stores to stop selling them and do something country-wide to tackle it. The 'I want this' culture isn't just restricted to live animals though.

So although this went off track a bit, I personally don't think that breeding gerbils in of itself is a bad thing if carefully thought out and with the intention of keeping all of the pups if noone homes them. I have very strong feelings about any breeder of any animal who actively pushes the sale of their animals, especially with phrases like 'need new homes', 'still waiting for a loving home' and 'let down by timewasters' as I don't believe that any animals should be bred purely to be sold. Phrases like this create the assumption that these (living) creatures are being churned out and are therefore being created only for the sake of getting rid of them (ie the breeder doesn't want them permanently themselves - and needs room for the next lot to come through). I don't understand how can you blame a new owner for NOT taking your babies if they don't want them. If they don't want them - I would be very grateful they told me in good time before they took them - not moan about them to the next lot of potential buyers.

Anyway, this is why I have an entire room dedicated to my animals so that if they stay with me (ie noone can, at that time, offer them a suitable long-term home) they stay with me for life. The level of capacity in this room is also a self-limiting factor - where if I am getting full up with 'keepers' then I stop breeding more - a no brainer really. If I - as a gerbil breeder - didn't want a room full of MY OWN gerbils that I had created myself - why would I expect anyone else to.

I am not sure if that helps or hinders your question actually - but I thought I would add my own thoughts as I am personally a breeder and I hope that I am not a part of the bigger problem - and I think it is questions and discussions like this that keep me in check and help me decide whether I am still doing this for the right reasons; to the best of my ability; and causing no harm to the animals themselves or the fancy overall.

So thank you for asking this - and I would love to hear other members thoughts on this whether they are a breeder themselves or not. A lively discussion would be greatly appreciated - and this forum is a safe place to have this (sometimes devisive) conversation.

[LilyandDaisy]

It's definitely a good point about the "timewasters" comments. It's not like trying to shift a bit of furniture on Gumtree!

If someone backs out for a good reason (e.g they decided they didn't have the time or money for the pet, or another commitment came up), then that's a good thing. And if they back out for what seems like a flimsy reason, or just don't turn up, well, maybe they weren't the kind of person you really wanted the animal to go to anyway?

[Thelodar]

I think there are two main things. One, I think there is just anti-breeder sentiment spillover from cats and dogs and other species that do have a significant over population problem. Some have just been conditioned to think breeding is bad because there are so many animals in shelters, but they don't stop and do research on whether or not that's true for gerbils.


Two, lots of good intentioned people try breeding and it turns into a disaster because they don't do the planning and research. They incorrectly sex pups who then reproduce, unplanned, with parents. They don't realize how many tanks will be needed. They don't plan for how to advertise for rehoming and can't find homes. They can't afford vet care if mom or pups fall ill. Then it turns into a welfare issue. If it gets overwhelming enough they dump the whole lot at a shelter.

So I think after seeing that situation a few times people try to scare others off breeding.

I'm a new breeder myself, so if you're still thinking of giving breeding a go I'm happy to help with what I've learned along the way.