The World’s Biggest Pet Store Has 250,000 Animals
August 22, 2015 8:17 AM Subscribe
Zoo Zajac is a 130,000 sq ft (120,77.4 sq m) pet store in a small town in Germany. The owner, Norbert Zajac, got his first pet, a golden hamster, when he was 4 years old. He started breeding and selling animals at 8 years old. Today his pet store is officially recognized as the largest in the world and has a selection of animals better than many zoos. They stock 250,000 individual animals of 3,000 different species.
I'm conflicted. The film appears to show the animals being well-treated, but the phrase "they stock 250,000 individual animals" makes me see bugs.
Seems there are too many animals running about in want of homes to be selling them.
posted by Mooski at 8:40 AM on August 22, 2015 [8 favorites]
Seems there are too many animals running about in want of homes to be selling them.
posted by Mooski at 8:40 AM on August 22, 2015 [8 favorites]
Learning fun German animal names:
bird spider: Vogelspinne
millipede: Tausendfüßler
sloth: Faultier
parrot: Papagei
meerkat: Erdmännchen (from google, film calls them just Erdmänn)
But ugh-the puppy shop.
And meerkats as pets--googling shows, as expected, that they are miserable pets.
posted by hexatron at 9:10 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
bird spider: Vogelspinne
millipede: Tausendfüßler
sloth: Faultier
parrot: Papagei
meerkat: Erdmännchen (from google, film calls them just Erdmänn)
But ugh-the puppy shop.
And meerkats as pets--googling shows, as expected, that they are miserable pets.
posted by hexatron at 9:10 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Eponysterically, his surname derives from the Polish word for “rabbit”.
posted by acb at 9:13 AM on August 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by acb at 9:13 AM on August 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
So let me get this straight, in Germany, it's rare to be able to buy a dog, but this store has a clan of meerkats apparently for sale?
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:17 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:17 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Great post but minor inconsequential quibble: According to the article, the store is located in Duisburg, which according to Wikipedia has a population of 486,000, i.e. larger than, say, Atlanta, Miami or New Orleans. I'm not sure if that qualifies as "small town."
Also, my favorite bit from the article: “He always has extreme ideas,” she says, with loving exasperation. “He wants to have penguins.” Zajac thinks he can get them from a German zoo, but so far his daughter has persuaded him to hold off. Banaszak doesn’t think the world’s biggest pet shop needs penguins, or any other new animals. “It’s big enough already.”
I think, I can see her point.
posted by sour cream at 9:20 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, my favorite bit from the article: “He always has extreme ideas,” she says, with loving exasperation. “He wants to have penguins.” Zajac thinks he can get them from a German zoo, but so far his daughter has persuaded him to hold off. Banaszak doesn’t think the world’s biggest pet shop needs penguins, or any other new animals. “It’s big enough already.”
I think, I can see her point.
posted by sour cream at 9:20 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
this doesn't sound like something le Carré would put in a novel, but i guess i'll have to go back and read it again
posted by indubitable at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by indubitable at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I expected the sketchiest exposed plumbing dimly lit dripping pipes back alley kidney swap looking "store"... and it looks nicer than basically any pet store in the US?!?!
Place looks like the freaking sony style shop for pets, or something.
posted by emptythought at 3:33 PM on August 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
Place looks like the freaking sony style shop for pets, or something.
posted by emptythought at 3:33 PM on August 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
sour cream: "According to the article, the store is located in Duisburg, which according to Wikipedia has a population of 486,000, i.e. larger than, say, Atlanta, Miami or New Orleans. I'm not sure if that qualifies as "small town.""Also, Duisburg is part of the Ruhr. With around 7½ million inhabitants, it's the fourth biggest urban agglomeration in Europe.
T.D. Strange: "So let me get this straight, in Germany, it's rare to be able to buy a dog"Not at all. But you'd typically buy it from a breeder, either a kennel or an amateur on the local equivalent of Craigslist.
posted by brokkr at 5:11 PM on August 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Skipping around the video, I'm impressed with the number of animal shirts he has!
posted by thecjm at 8:33 PM on August 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by thecjm at 8:33 PM on August 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
He certainly did change shirts a lot! It's true many of the animals would make very bad pets. I wonder if zoos are actually part of his customer base?
The animals I saw looked very well cared for and very healthy, even perfect.
He has lots of books, about the animals, and all sorts of foods and medicines they could need. I have sadly seen FAR worse.
I'm not generally in favor of exotic animals as pets though. Most people really can't afford the proper care of these animals, and lack the skills and knowledge to look after them.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:36 PM on August 22, 2015
The animals I saw looked very well cared for and very healthy, even perfect.
He has lots of books, about the animals, and all sorts of foods and medicines they could need. I have sadly seen FAR worse.
I'm not generally in favor of exotic animals as pets though. Most people really can't afford the proper care of these animals, and lack the skills and knowledge to look after them.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:36 PM on August 22, 2015
The World's Biggest Pet Store...
...because animals are nature's iPhones!
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:02 PM on August 23, 2015
...because animals are nature's iPhones!
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:02 PM on August 23, 2015
Please don't breed or buy while shelter pets die -bumpersticker
posted by cman at 4:31 PM on August 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cman at 4:31 PM on August 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
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