Petco Code Of Ethics

Petco Animal Supplies

When thinking about a business one may ponder the several aspects of how a business functions. One of the most important aspects to a company are their ethical obligations. Many businesses have these obligations but not all recognize them, which can create an issue between the consumers and the suppliers. Petco is an animal supplies company that deals in the sales of all animal related products (food, leashes, and so much more). It is reasonable to question what ethical obligations Petco has and if they are acting on these responsibilities. One must outline the different actions that Petco has as an animal supplies company to keep the animals in their possession healthy and well-cared for. For many businesses dealing with

animal care, this is the responsibility they hold. There are some controversies on whether Petco performs to what they state in their Code of Ethics and Conduct as they try to “promote the health, well-being and humane treatment of animals” (Code of Ethics). The truth is that Petco needs to improve their section on animal care in their Code of Ethics as several cases have alluded that not only do they lack motivation to follow through on their ethical responsibilities but they also do not have an ethical code up-to-standard with modern society’s expectations. Using Immanuel Kant’s ethics (Kantian Ethics) this company is able to execute an easy-to-follow Code of Ethics that allows for the basic care and health of their animals, but in the end it does not comply with Kant’s standards and is not executed properly.
The Promise versus the Reality of Animal Care
One of the largest flaws when considering whether Petco properly cares for their animals is the flaw of humanity, and the fact that not all people are ethical beings, meaning that people don’t always have what are considered good morals. Where one Petco store may be up to ethical standards, another may have mistreatment of animals. In their Code of Ethics Petco states: “Take appropriate action immediately. If you ever have an animal care concern, it is your responsibility to take the initiative to communicate your concern” (Code of Ethics). But not all employees may follow through on this. Just as well not all customers may point out the issues their suppliers are taking part in. You may ask if it is just as much the customer responsibility as a bystander as the employees of the store. Here it is not the company that is letting down their code but their employees, which they still are responsible for. You then must question a business’s ability to monitor all of their employees and their actions properly. The code not only requires proper reporting, but allows for procedures one must take to allow for correct screening to make sure each animal is accounted for accurately. Furthermore they put in place consequences for incentive in line with these behaviors. The Petco Code of Ethics sets up a basic outline for what any company should have when they are caring for animals, but it does not hold their employees up to a “higher standard” and if it was foolproof then there would be less incidents where mistreatment is evident.
With technology today different stories and opinions can arise about a company within minutes and be followed up by several other opinions and views. When the discussion on controversial topics like proper animal care arise people have a lot to say and sometimes PETA (PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS) gets involved. PETA is an animal rights organization that takes part in several different situations such as “public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns” (About PETA). One component of their website is a blog where people are free to express their views on animal treatment. One blogger mentions Petco’s mistreatment of animals, “I noticed a large open wound on the face of a small white mouse… small goldfish are kept by the hundreds in huge, severely crowded tanks with no enrichment… a tiny baby chameleon whose back was broken when a worker accidentally slammed the animal’s cage door shut” (Woempner). This is just one example by one person, but several others follow it. Where in this store does the employee uphold their code? Who is “making sure that animals always come first” (Woempner)? The code is not evident in this facility, and if one store follows these procedures, of not caring for an animal because it is food for another and allowing for accidents that endanger the animals, then what is stopping others? Another gruesome story recounts, “The death toll was so high… closing procedure every day was to take out the dead “feeder fish” who had been sucked into a filter, wrap them in a plastic bag, and place them in the “dead” freezer, along with dead rats, mice, hamsters, birds, and other casualties” (Woempner). As you can see these casualties were common and yet we hear of no consequence and no reporting of these issues. While these stories are horrible and evident it is important to note that these are not the whole stories and some experiences may differ from the truth, but the fact that they exist remains important.
Petco’s Kantian Ethics Explained
Immanuel Kant is a large figure in philosophy and business law that has a basis for duty ethics and has different rules so that one may follow these ethical guidelines. Kantian Ethics has a set of universal rules that can be broken down to two important principles. The first being consistency and the second being reversibility. Consistency states that each case is treated alike with no objections. This allows for one to follow the same reasoning no matter what the situation demands. For example, if you must always tell the truth then no matter how much a lie could save someone’s life you must always tell the truth. Reversibility states that “the actor must abide by the rule that he or she uses to judge the morality of someone else’s conduct… if you are going to make an exception for yourself, that exception becomes a universal rule that applies to all others” (Cheeseman, 25). These principles are Kant’s views on how morality should be applied, though there are other theories on ethics, Kantian Ethics apply to treatment of animals best because it looks at the idea that ‘to harm’ is wrong and applies that concept universally, and that if you are to change the standard for some animals you must change it for all. Kantian Ethics states that, “the value of a good will lies in the principles on the basis of which it forms its intentions…” (Jankowiak), therefore one must wonder if Petco’s intentions has shaped its code and whether it is upholding that promise. Petco’s code takes Kantian Ethics and decides that because it is a universal rule to treat animals well that they should use those basic methods to keep their company ethical.
There are several flaws in Petco’s lacking efforts to provide its company with a good Code of Ethics. These flaws reside not only in the code but in the lack of ambition they have to apply Kantian Ethics correctly and fully. Though some look at Petco as “all about love and caring, all the things that make us human” (Devine), there is much more than people are able to see. Though the code allows for basic rules, such as taking “a moment to verify that all animals are properly fed, watered and housed” (Code of Ethics), it does not put in place procedures, tasks, and descriptions of what a sick animal looks like, how to properly transport animals, and so much more. This is where you can see that Petco does have an ethical obligation and that they do follow through on it, but not to its full potential. Kantian Ethics allows for Petco to form a basis for animal treatment and an understanding of what should be done, but doesn’t fully disclose the extent that they should go to about their care. Just as well Kantian Ethics has some major flaws that apply in several cases including animal cruelty. If the universal rule is to no harm, then what about food and killing animals for survival? Just as well what if you are in danger because of an animal, but Kant states that because of that rule you must not harm. Just as well, if the situation demands for you to harm an animal then you must reapply that and it shall then be okay to harm animals in all cases for everyone, so Petco doesn’t even need a Code of Ethics. You can see here how well the theory works with the positive health and care of animals, but how it undermines it just as much, these flaws are where Petco and several other humans are slipping through the cracks and seeing mistreatment of animals as a viable behavior.
Conclusion
It is evident that Petco as an animal supplies company that has an ethical obligation to care for the animals it puts through its facilities as stated by their Code of Ethics and Conduct, and that this code is applied using the basics of Kantian Ethics.

Petco as a business does follow through on the basic needs of their responsibility but overall is involved in several cases if mistreatment of their animals and could use a better application of Kant’s principles. Just as well, Kantian Ethics has several flaws that allow the mistreatment of animals, but also undermines its own rules and the logic of applying morals to what a situation demands. As a whole there are too many cases that present Petco as abusers and therefore they are not only not acting in line with their ethical code, but they are hindering their ability to be a successful

company.

Works Cited
"About PETA." PETA.

N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. .

Chesseman, Henry R. Legal Environment of Business: Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and Global Issues. 8th ed. N.p.: Pearson Education, Inc. , 2016. Print.

"Code of Ethics and Conduct Buster’s Guide to Good." Petco. Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. , Aug. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2017. .

DEVINE, BRIAN. "Off the Cuff." Christian Science Monitor, vol. 92, no. 71, 06 Mar. 2000, p. 16. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=2849836&site=ehost

Jankowiak, Tim. "Immanuel Kant." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and its Authors , n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017. .

Woempner, Alicia . "From PETCO to PETA: A Former PETCO Employee Speaks Out." PETA. N.p., 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

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