Petition · past parliament
Bring in a 3 day cooling off period when buying an animal from a pet shop.
Closed
155 signatures
What the petition asks
At the moment you can walk into a pet shop and buy any pet. Some stores will offer advice for how to look after them but this does not stop impulse buying of animals. Making people wait 3 days would give them chance to think properly about whether they are making the right decision in buying a pet.
Quote from the RSPCA website about Rabbits, “In 2017, we investigated 2,428 complaints of neglect about rabbits and more than 2,000 bunnies were rescued by us last year.”
If people were sent home for three days after choosing any pet, for example a rabbit, with all the relevant information on care and costs over its life time then the purchase would hopefully be better planned for. This would then hopefully lead to less animals being abandoned. Pets should not be an impulse buy.
If people were sent home for three days after choosing any pet, for example a rabbit, with all the relevant information on care and costs over its life time then the purchase would hopefully be better planned for. This would then hopefully lead to less animals being abandoned. Pets should not be an impulse buy.
Timeline
| 6 Apr 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 6 Oct 2018 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
155
Status
Closed
Opened
6 Apr 2018
Closed
6 Oct 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.