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'd say, if 1 in 10 households in the UK own horses, there's pretty decent odds that someone posting online about a horse related topic probably does own them unless otherwise stated. It's pretty condescending to assume otherwise, and your original post in response to mine was condescending in tone. If you want people to respond to your posts differently, you should look to how your own posts read.

I don't recall suggesting that CP give a "true insight" into anything - I said they were a better toy than the one shown in the OP, and I stand by that. If you want to offer an olive branch, you'd be better to start by not creating straw man arguments out of people's posts. I don't actually need a dry winter - I have enough land and facilities to manage either way.

I swear mn posters can argue about absolutely anything....

1 in 10 UK homes have horses? I find that extremely hard to believe. It can't possibly be that high.

Says here its 0.3% of UK homes, which sounds more like it.
petkeen.com/horse-statistics-uk/

Perhaps you are talking about toy horses, given the topic.

I also found it hard to believe, hence the "if" at the start of the statement.

This soft, interactive Mama guinea pig comes with a deluxe, interactive hutch. Care for Mama and when her heart glows, a baby is on the way. Place her inside her interactive hutch and wait patiently. Discover a new-born guinea pig baby and a special care package. Care for Mama again and you will find new guinea pig babies to complete your adorable, guinea pig family. This magical experience is repeatable, so that you can go through the surprise and delight of caring for Mama and discovering her babies, again and again.

Just Like a Real Pet Mama Surprise teaches children to care for and nurture their pet. Just like a real pet, you can look after your Mama guinea pig by feeding, grooming and patting her.

Feed Her Mama loves to snack on her delicious celery stick. Simply place it inside her mouth and listen as she makes cute feeding sounds.

Brush Her Mama has long, beautiful and silky fur. Keep her fur clean and tidy with her brush. Mama will make happy sounds as you brush her.

Mama's Heart Glows When Mama receives enough love and attention, her heart will start glowing and she'll let out a melody to let you know that a baby is about to arrive.

When Will The Baby Arrive? When Mama's heart starts glowing, she's ready to be placed her inside the hutch. When Mama's heart stops glowing and the hutch light turns off, a cute baby has arrived.

If you did this to a real bear, it would rip your head off. Something must be done!

Any reputable pet shop will only sell guinea pigs in pairs or more.

Yup you’re right my math went a bit mad! So as it’s actually 0.3% of households who own horses my assumption is definitely not bizarre in fact it is totally realistic and sensible. But as others have said some on here can argue about anything which is something I’ve noticed is getting worse over the years. I’ve posted about horse ownership amongst other things and it’s many ups and downs repeatedly on here (under other user names) for over 15 years and have never before met with such an aggressive response but that seems to be the norm in MN these days which is why Im increasingly backing away.

People who will buy the toy and the ones who don't have space for a Guinea pig but their kid still wants one.

So they buy the toy instead.

According to the Blue Cross Pet Census, 60% of rabbit owners were sold their rabbits individually. The data for guinea pigs isn't held, unfortunately, but I suspect it isn't dramatically better sadly.

Strangely enough, @NosnowontheScottishhills, I found your responses condescending and unpleasant in tone. I don't think there was anything "aggressive" in any of my responses, but I responded in keeping with the tone of your posts. I'm allowed to disagree with you, to express that, and to point out where you are misrepresenting my statements (specifically, with reference to CP toys being a "true insight" into horse ownership).

You have a point there OP,

We made the mistake of giving my DS a cuddly penguin that he had in his bed, alongside his stuffed owl and baby tiger.

When he grew up and replicated this with real live animals, all hell broke loose. The penguin overheated and just would not stay still, and the lion ate the owl

He blames us for bad parenting and giving unrealistic expectations of how animals should be kept.

This is a weird thread.

My dd had a toy horse that lived in a box. She also has a real horse that lives in the field, and understands the difference.

I’ve also seen a toy school which you can only fit three children in. Bring in the barbies to make an authentic class size and you’ve got a fire risk on your hands.

It’s. A. Toy.

Yes it's a toy but you wouldn't give a kid a toy pack of cigarettes.

And what do the toy houses look like? Because every Wendy house I’ve ever seen has completely open windows and one room. What reality is being portrayed by a one room house with no windows, plumbing, central heating, gas, or electricity? Is it an acceptable reality?

So the toy hoovers are real life size huh? Or are they a much smaller version, just like the cage?

There are toy cigarettes.

I feel the same about toy farm sets. They normalise animal exploitation. So you are right but most people don't give a shit about animals and won't get the correlation.

This is exactly the problem. You see the cage as a scaled down version of an acceptable cage for a pig.
Scale up a toy hoover you get a full sized hoover.
Scale up that cage you do not get a suitable living environment for a pig.

I had a toy farm. I never became a farmer but I did have a lovely time playing with it

However I was under no illusion that the tiny pig pen I had to cram three pigs in was in anyway a realistic substitute.

I actually think most four year old children would look at you incredulously if you suggested they were that dense.

@Tiredalwaystired
You're missing my point. Most people who play with toy farms grow up thinking it's ok to exploit animals ie eat meat/dairy/eggs. The toys normalise the entire industry. It's not about the scale of the toy. It's the idea behind it.

I wonder what idea tamagochi gave to kids.😁

Parent your kids and you don't have to worry about toys giving them wrong ideas.

I love how batshot this place is sometimes 😁

Wtf. There shouldn't be.