Oh, yes ... there is a world of difference between a reputable breeder, and a mill. That is what I was trying to say in my earlier post, sorry if I wasn't clear. A mill breeds only for the money. They have a lot of animals, and breed them every time they can. They can literally breed them to death. Most of these animals live their whole lives in a tiny cage, never know love or kindness. They breed animals who are not healthy, and never should be bred. They sell animals who have genetic defects and illnesses. They are irresponsible, and don't care where they animals end up - in a bad home, at the city pound, in the landfill. Doesn't matter to them ... they've made their money.
There are also good breeders. It sounds like the breeder your friend bought from is one of those. Good breeders care what happens to their animals and breed only healthy animals. Good breeders won't sell to a petstore, because they ARE good breeders. They care about where their babies go, and want to pick good homes for them. Pet stores will sell any animal to the first person that walks in the door with the money, no questions asked. Good breeders can't stand to see that happen to their babies, so they sell them themselves.
By purchasing animals from small, good, reputable breeders, we are allowing those breeders to continue producing a small number of healthy animals. By purchasing animals from a pet store, we are putting money into the pockets of mills, thereby allowing mills to continue. They only way to stop puppy and bird mills is to stop buying from them.
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