To think MN shouldn't be promoting old fashioned and cruel methods of pet ownership

[Newfluff]

OK, my teens will say 'it's not that deep' but AIBU to be saddened that the best toy of 2022 is based on cruelty?

Guinea pigs are social creatures that need to live in pairs, but ideally groups. They need space to thrive not a tiny handbag cage.

I'm sure the majority will say I'm batshit and that it doesn't matter as they aren't real, but this perpetuates the idea of it being acceptable to house pigs alone in dark cages, and this shouldn't be promoted in 2022

I know a My Little Pony which lives under the bed with a dinosaur.

Toy dogs, usually children do not walk them twice a day (or more) and attend training classes to simulate true responsible dog ownership.

DD used to grab every animal around the neck and squeeze, hard. She used to drag her poor dogs around with a lead bouncing their poor heads off the furniture. Swinging them sometimes.

Now I have to buy humanely produced food for her cosseted, spoiled animals, who live a life of sheer luxury. I regularly get told off for wanting to half-arse their care. Anyone bathed a reptile recently? Because it didn't completely shed. I have.

Her snake stuffed animals were used as door stops. And sometimes weapons. Now the reptiles are bloody fed better than me.

It doesn't create behaviour.

you mean flamingos don’t use the toilet when they need a poo?

@RefuseTheLies 😆😂🤣

For goodness sake OP, most children understand the difference between a toy and something real. I gouged a hole in my doll's forehead when I was a child, to match the scar on my own head - pretty sure I never felt the urge to do it to a baby in later life. Do you take everything in life this seriously?

How ridiculous. You would really dislike dd's elephant toy who lives in a baby cot and regularly has nappies, baths in her kitchen sink and then sits in a little high chair to have his breakfast.
I think the guinea pig toy looks amazing personally, I'd have loved that when I was a child. Far better to encourage this than real pet ownership if someone doesn't have the time or room.

It's a just a toy.

It doesn't cement the idea of anything.

You should see what my 3yo does to her dolls. I’m not sure that her neglect of a plastic dolL will pre-dispose her to a social services referral. I was debating getting the Guinea pig toy. I’m not a complete idiot though so if I were to get a real one, I’d do a bit of research first and not assume the toy aimed at 7yos would be a realistic interpretation of the care required for a real animal.

If they only sold toy hamsters/guinea pigs/whatever with the appropriate size cage and in the right multiples, nobody would buy them because of how huge they were and they'd probably think, you know what, we might as well get a real one if we're going to give this much space over and spend this much money on it. Which would be way worse in the long run for these pets, wouldn't it?

I thought you were being ridiculous OP if I'm truly honest with you. But then I got to the end of your post and thought oh actually..maybe you have a point. In the same way a torturing a puppy toy wouldn't be acceptable but this is slightly less extreme

Unless the toy is there, specifically, to teach and prepare children for a pet, then I think yabu.

my niece throws her baby dolls all over and the cradle that came with some was far too small. In real life it would be cruel. My niece didn’t attempt to treat her baby sister the same.

My son had a plush curious George since he was one, that’s been bounced all over. It was never intended to teach him how to take care of an actual monkey.

If parents are the type to buy a pet and not look into how they should be cared for, they will not look into it regardless of toys. I don’t know any adult who looks at a toy and presumes that’s exactly what should happen in real life. Pet buying is down to adults.

As for toy kitchens, they don’t come with plumb in gas. It’s not an exact simulation and not designed to teach kids how to cook.

@TheLadyofShalott1 I do seriously think that anything like keeping toy pets, or babies (baby dolls) should come with a list of care notes, and should not be given to a child until they have a reasonable understanding of their parents vocabulary

So shall I tell my DD who’s favourite toy is her ‘baby’ that MN said she isn’t allowed to have a doll until she can follow a full list of care instructions? She’s 2, that’s a long way off. Do you actually think the way a toddler plays with a doll in indicative of their future parenting skills in like 25 years time?
It sounds like you were more damaged by your own mother’s extreme views than actual playing with a naked doll, which is something pretty much all children do by the way. They are fascinated by what’s underneath the baby clothes.

DD has her baby naked on a cold winter day, dangerously cosleeps with the tiny baby, doesn’t feed her every day, frequently drops her while running about and when she’s bored she shoves baby back in a cupboard. I have no worries that she will somehow think that is acceptable parenting as an adult to a real child.

@alasangne In the same way a torturing a puppy toy wouldn't be acceptable but this is slightly less extreme

Wait… a plastic toy pet is only slightly better than torturing a puppy????

YANBU. But chances are the people who designed this toy don’t know either - there is a lot of ignorance around this. I work in a school and another teacher excitedly told me we were getting a guinea pig for the school, SLT had approved it and I was like ‘oh how many?’ She said ‘just one’. She, headteacher, and three other grown and apparently intelligent adults who support the running of the school we’re completely oblivious to the fact you can’t just keep them alone.
And then we didn’t get the school pet… I think I rained on everyone’s parade that that day with my revelation that guinea pigs, rabbits, rats etc should be in pairs at least - maybe no budget for more than one - sorry kids 😂

Hrtft... So apologies for any repeat. What about pinatas where you bludgeon a donkey to death for a prize while your mates cheer you on. 🙃 I think the toy isn't promoting a real world scenario.

I think you are being ridiculous

It's a toy. Toys are supposed to be fantasy and they are not supposed to be recreations of the real world. Play uses objects thay aren't real life to act as other objects

I used to tuck all my toys up in a shoebox. I don't think its appropriate to tuck 25 children in a shoebox. But obviously I couldn't buy a 4 bed house and life-size beds for my teddies.

This isn't the same as torturing a puppy. It's more like tying a string round a dogs neck to act as a lead. Completely inappropriate in real life but find in imaginary play

Of all the things to get worked up about, this isn't it. Playing with toys doesn't "cement" anything. Who's going to buy a toy Guinea pig if they have to buy a life size hutch and all the gubbins to go with it. Madness.

I get what you’re saying, and the way we treat small animals is gross. But I think there are actual bigger issues to be tackled. Shoebox sized runs at pet at home etc shouldn’t be allowed for a starters.

This thread is hilarious, it's brightened up an otherwise dull Tuesday morning 😅

You mean because it’s only one Guinea pig? Or because the cage is small? I’d assume anyone who actually bought one would know that’s not what you do! I also bought a toy dog wearing pjs and a dummy but we all know they don’t really have that.

In Switzerland it’s actually illegal to only own one Guinea pig.

Ooh, dd3 has been pestering for guinea pigs to which I've said no. But this toy is a good compromise. Going to go and look - hadn't even bothered looking at that article/list but will now. Thanks.

It is a toy OP. It encourages children to care and have empathy as do baby dolls etc.

This illustrates exactly why I have a problem with it.

It isn't that I struggle to separate toys from real life animals but because it perpetuates an idea that tiny cages are acceptable. And adults clearly don't realise what goes into looking after a small animal as show by the quoted post.

I do donate and campaign against pets shops selling small cages, but the public also need to move away from the idea that a hutch is an acceptable means of keeping animals.

In fairness I'm heartened that 25% of the vote at the moment understands why I dislike it. To the pp that asked if I'm often seen to be batshit, the answer is yes. Sadly cruelty to animals is accepted by so many, often it is through ignorance rather than malice, so people do think I'm batty when I talk about them.

YABU

and this is coming from someone who has had many guinea pigs that lived in huge (cube and coroplast) cages. It is a toy. They couldn't exactly give the toy a massive cage.

@Newfluff because it perpetuates an idea that tiny cages are acceptable.

But people buy toy dogs, toy gerbils etc precisely because they don’t want to have to look a pet!
Its a small stuffed toy, are you seriously saying you need to have a huge pen for a toy and you can’t buy one must buy two because in real life they need to be in pairs?

I think it's obvious from the replies on here that a lot of posters don't actually understand the issue. It's not that the cage should be full size, but that giving it a cage - rather than a travelling crate or similar if you need to add in some plastic crap - perpetuates a long standing myth about how small animals should be kept - alone, in a small cage.

For all those saying that people are responsible and will do their own research before buying a live animal, how do you explain all the guinea pigs and rabbits who do live alone, in small hutches that are unsuitable for their needs? Well kept small furries are still the exception rather than the norm in the UK.

The toy is not "the" problem, but it is part of a bigger problem about how we see small animals in the UK and how many people don't even realise there's anything to research before buying them.