What's going on with Riverfront Aquariums? 333 exotic animals seized.

[Mar]

First they get 3 separate violations this year for improper living conditions for their animals:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...rges-1.3176304

A Calgary pet store has been charged for a third time under the Animal Protection Act after officials rescued several animals in medical distress.

The most recent charges came after the Calgary Humane Society seized a lizard, a tree frog and two day geckos on June 18 from Riverfront Aquariums at 312 Meridian Road N.E.

In September, officials seized nine rabbits and a bearded dragon suffering from neglect, and in May they found an iguana and chameleon in medical distress, resulting in the first and second set of charges.

"It is very concerning to see a business dedicated to the sale of animals charged once, but to see subsequent charges laid demonstrates either an inability or unwillingness to properly care for their animals," said Brad Nichols, the society's senior manager of animal cruelty investigations, in a release.

"A business claiming to be an expert in the care of exotic animals, to me, has a higher expectation of care than a lay person."

The owner of the business is set to appear in provincial court Aug. 6, Aug. 24 and Sept. 8 on the three sets of charges.

Then they have 333 animals seized on December 3:
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...itys-northeast

The Calgary Humane Society has seized 333 exotic animals from a northeast Calgary pet store whose owner previously faced three sets of charges relating to animals in distress.

Hundreds of snakes, lizards, amphibians, invertebrates and arachnids were seized from Riverfront Aquariums on Wednesday following a complaint from a member of the public.

The animals were in cramped, dirty conditions with inadequate access to fresh water and food, said Brad Nichols, senior manager of animal cruelty investigations. Many of them have medical issues, Nichols added.

Peace officers first visited Riverfront Aquariums — at 312 Meridian Road N.E. — in September 2014, where they found nine rabbits and a bearded dragon, all suffering from neglect. Some of the rabbits had to be euthanized. The following May, officers seized an iguana and chameleon in medical distress, and the next month seized four more animals. Last summer, store owner Wayne Woo was facing three sets of charges in connection to these incidents.

A person who answered the phone at Riverfront Aquariums confirmed the Humane Society seized the animals Wednesday, but declined to comment further.

In Nichols’ 10 years working with the Humane Society, he said he’s never seen a seizure of this magnitude.

“In volume as well as specific care needs . . . it’s the most significant seizure in our department’s history,” said Nichols.

“It’s amazing how well we come together in times of crisis — it went far smoother than I ever would have expected — but certainly when you add 333 animals to approximately 500 animals we already have in our shelter capacity and foster program, certainly there’s a need for further resources.”

The Humane Society is asking the public for help in donating supplies and money to take care of the animals. It’s looking for things such as clean terrariums and enclosures, shallow food and water dishes, humidity meters, crickets and cricket food.

So what happens with the animals the humane society has taken? Are they selling them now?

[speedog]

Why don't you just call the Calgary Humane Society as they'd probably be the most qualified people to answer your questions.

[Disoblige]

What's worse is if Mar ends up with one of these exotic animals. I pray for all of them this doesn't happen.

[jsn]

I used to love visiting their store. As a kid, my dad would always take me to the downtown location and we were on pretty good terms with Wayne (at the time). It was a very reputable shop back then. They had a good selection of fish and at pretty fair prices. They also had the largest collection of rare (and super expensive) Arowanas in the city. I still remember the blood red arowana they had on sale for $40,000.

I haven't been their in ages and don't know what happened to them, but it's sad to see them go downhill.

[rx7boi]

Riverfront is a shit hole. When I got into reef fish collecting, I went down to their store one time and it was pretty apparent that they did not have the staff to upkeep the amount of livestock they had.

Never bought anything there and never recommended it to anyone else either.

[firebane]

I liked Riverfront because they had stock of fish you couldn't get anywhere else.

For example I was recently looking for siamese algae eaters and nobody else had them except Riverfront so I purchased a couple. Unfortunately we just recently lost one due to health issues So I'm hoping the other is big enough and strong enough he will survive.

But the majority of the fish in my tank are all from Pieces as they seem to be clean and have good stock.

One of the things about Riverfront that always bothered me and my girlfriend was the fact of how it smelled, looked, and the conditions of the tanks the fish were held in.

It looked like a unhappy place.