“It ends today. Today, we stop the pain for Buddy because he barks at the doorbell. We stop the stress for Sadie because she jumps for joy all over the neighbors when they walk in the door. And we stop the fear for Cooper because he prefers a good pair of sneakers over all the chew toys on the market.”
The California-based pet supply retailer announced on Tuesday that it had stopped selling all electronic shock collars, including both human and bark-activated models.
Petco CEO Ron Coughlin said in a statement online, “as a health and wellness company dedicated to improving pet lives, they have no business in our business. And frankly, we believe there’s a better way.”
The store will instead promote positive training methods with expert trainers who mentor pets and pet parents with positivity, patience, and compassion. The company is also offering an introductory online training class for free and is expanding the services and resources it offers to help pet owners care for their animal friends.
“Learn what we’re taking off our shelves and add your voice to our petition below. And thank you for always helping us give all pets their very best lives. Today, we #StopTheShock.”
Petco also started a petition calling for other retailers and pet owners to stop selling, purchasing, and using shock collars.
“We’re also calling on the rest of the pet industry, pet parents and anyone who loves pets to help us create new guidelines, engage in responsible self-regulation and consider legislative change for the retail sale of certain shock collars to general consumers.”
The chain’s move appears to have a lot of support. Nearly 14,000 people had signed the petition by Tuesday evening.
