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[Stacy]

I don't think they are posting any of them. I posted one and I don't see it on there.

[Summer]

I did and they deleted mine too. I am going to again today.

[Jo Ann]

This letter was just sent, by me, to the manufacturers of some of the "chinchilla" products ... I hope many of you will do the same.

To whom it may concern,
    Do you realize some (actually most) of your products marked to be used for chinchillas are not safe for chinchillas, or could cause permanent damage to them and possibly eventually kill them?
    If it contains, or is made of hard plastic, aluminum, pet grade corn, the many "hard woods" and/or sand it can be very detrimental to a chinchilla. 
    Chinchillas may be considered in the rodent family, but the similarity stops there.   They are very delicate exotic animals.  They will chew, eat and consume most anything they can get their little teeth into.   They do not know what is or is not good for them.   Many new owners do not know what is or is not good for their new pet ... if a manufacturer puts the name "chinchilla" on the package, many think automatically, that it is good for a chinchilla, when it is NOT.
    Plastic can not be dissolved and will cause damage to the digestive tract.  Soft metals, such as aluminum, can damage the digestive tract, when eaten by a chinchilla.
   The "sand bath" can cause damage to the beautiful fur of a chinchilla.  They need to have a dust bath, not a sand bath.
   The exercise wheels and roll-about balls should be 15" or wider in diameter, or they can cause a permanent damage to the spine of a chinchilla.  The cross bars on exercise wheels can cut off and/or break a chinchillas leg or neck.   There is no warning on the roll-a-bout balls that heat can build up in them, if a chin is left inside it to long, or if it is taken outside.  Chinchillas can easily die of heat strokes in temperatures we are comfortable.
    I am horrified when I see products like this!  They are not safe for chinchillas.
    I wish manufactures and stores would make sure it, and other products are safe for a chinchilla before you mark it as such!
    To quote from an authority on chinchillas:
    "Remember the rule on fruit tree branches is DO NOT feed the branches from trees that bare fruit that has a pit. This is especially true when the sap is flowing in these trees. To clarify, we suggest that branches being used be confined to apple and mulberry. Redwood and Oak and many other woods from the forest & yards should be avoided."
This is from the book   "After 40 Years Alice Kline Talks About Chinchillas"  By Alice Kline  This book can be found at: http://www.mutationchinchillas.com/general_store.htm
      I would like to strongly suggest you get a copy of the above book and/or "The Joy of Chinchillas" http://www.cachins.org/  and/or do research on your products before you mark them for use by chinchillas.
     Now that you know this, if someone decides to sue you when one of your products damage, hurts and/or kills their chinchilla, you can not say you did not know or was not informed of the fact.

Sincerely,
Jo Ann McCraw
www.luvnchins.com/

 
Jo Ann

[Joyce]

Excellent Jo Ann!!!!  These pet stores that sell the products and the manufacturers that make these products need to know this!  If enough of us take a stand to do something about it they may listen.  But if only a handful of people take action I'm afraid these companies are not going to do a thing about it.  We need to protect chinchillas and keep them safe, they cannot do it themselves.
If any of you are on other forums or in other chin organizations, please spread the word.  The chins need all the help they can get. 

I just happen to live right in the town next door to the Peta National Headquarters. We pass their gorgeous building many times a week.  My husband actually passes it 2 times a day.
Maybe we can, together, write a letter with our concerns about chinchillas being sold in pet stores (and why), unsafe products being sold for chins.....etc......
I would be willing to personally hand deliver it to their door!  They may be able to help us, after all they are very well known.  Maybe people would then take it all more seriously and listen.
What do you all think?
Below is the link to the Peta site..............


http://www.peta.org/

[chinclub]

Oh, please don't get involved with PETA.  Please, please, please!!! They seem to have the animals best interests at heart but their ways of doing things are horrible.  They are the people who will go into a ranch and turn loose thousands of animals into the wild to prove a point.  They have done it to chinchilla ranches, fur ranches, rabbit breeders, ect.  We all know what would happen to our chinchillas if someone turned them loose into the wild. 

Not too long ago they went to a dog show and released a bunch of dogs from their crates.  Many ran right into the road and several were killed by cars.

They tend to target first and ask questions later.  5 years ago I was targeted by them because they assumed I pelted since I breed chinchilla.  I was sent tons of threats. For this reason I can no longer place my address anywhere on my site.

I have friends who were targeted by them and it pretty much ruined their life.

Please do some research on the people behind PETA and their true mission statement.

[Joyce]

 :-[ Oh my gosh Jamie!  Thanks for posting (and being so kind about it).    Sorry you all, I hope I didn't horrify anyone with my post.
Most of you know me well enough to know I would never do anything to harm animals or make anyone's life miserable.  Matter of fact not a day goes by that we are not helping animals & people in some way.
This is why I asked for your input and thoughts about Peta & all.  Jamie, thank you for posting what you did.  I had no idea! 

Well we'll put that plan OUT of our minds now.  I guess the best way to approach the whole thing is to stick to writing/calling  these companies that manufacture and sell unsafe products for chins.  Hopefully this will help!

[chinclub]

Don't feel bad.  A lot of people don't know the truth behind that group. 

[Abby W.]

Hey, I decided against joining PETA when I got a flyer from them entitled
"Lobsters are people too"  That is just too ridiculous for me.  Besides, I LOVE a good steamed lobster 

[Jo Ann]

You're right, Jamie ... so many  most people have no idea what some in that group will do.
     I have heard so many horror stories about them ... they have some very radical people in that group.  An old timer told me about them setting fire to a building full of chinchillas ... all the chins perished ... This was there way of making sure he didn't have any furs to sell ... 
       Another story was about them releasing a bunch of chins that were being shipped in or out (can't remember which) on a loading dock in Maine in the middle of winter ... you can imagine how many of the chins survived that.
      Many of the breeders/ranchers have purchased big dogs that are turned loose inside the chin buildings to protect the chins when the rancher is not there.
      If you listen carefully to one of their films on how ranchers kill chinchillas (one that was suppose to be being filmed without the rancher's knowledge), you can hear the man saying, "Make sure you don't get my face in this."  That one sounds more like a "staged filming" than it did one being filmed that did not know it.
     They show filming of a chinchilla housing area that is filthy ... now, think about it  ... if a chinchilla is being raised for fur, or as a pet ... it would be stupid for the breeder/rancher to keep them in filth ... chinchillas need to be at their best, not worst to bring top dollar, why would someone keep them in filth?   
     Sometimes I wonder how stupid some of these people/organizations really think people are.   

 
Jo Ann

[Abby W.]

Unfortunately, Jo Ann, some people really are that dumb, or I should say uninformed.  Many people will believe anything they see on TV.  So, the tactic, whiles dishonest, probably works for at leats some people.  It's sad, but unfortunately, true.