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The SPCA believes that pets should not be given as presents unless the person at the receiving end is prepared to be responsible for the pet for the rest of its life - which could mean a 12-year commitment or more. Countless pets are on sale in pet shops and the temptation to buy them on the spur of the moment as a gift for someone is hard to resist.
Unfortunately, many unwanted and neglected pets are given up to the SPCA, the main reason being that their owners have no time to look after them anymore. Too many, sadly, have to be put to sleep because there are not enough homes to adopt them. Animals are living beings that are capable of feeling pain and suffering.
Any pet requires a considerable amount of attention on a daily basis. One must consider that they not only need shelter and a balanced diet, but also house training, obedience training (for dogs) and veterinary treatment/surgery when sick. Other requirements will be sterilisation (to avoid having unwanted litters which will add to the already high unwanted pet population), annual vaccination (for dogs and cats) and daily exercise; not forgetting interaction and socialisation with the humans in the household.

If you were thinking of giving a pet as a present, please think again. When the novelty wears off, the unwanted pet may end up being discarded.
The following is a guide to the approximate life span of various domestic pets:

Dogs and cats - up to 18 years
Rabbits - 6 to 8 years
Hamsters - 2 years
Gerbils - 2 to 4 years
Mice - up to 2 years
Guinea Pigs - 4 to 8 years
Red-eared Sliders (commonly known as Terrapins) - over 20 years
Note: The SPCA does not encourage the keeping of the Red-eared Slider as pets, due to the long term commitment needed.
Thousands of these reptiles have been purchased when very small, their owners being unaware that they may grow to around 20cm in size. Countless numbers have been abandoned over the years into reservoirs and ponds, by owners who can no longer take care of them.

Abandonment of these animals is not only cruel, but it is against the law. It also pushes out the indigenous species, thereby upsetting the balance of the ecosystem.
 
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