Some communities are considering banning the sale of pets in pet stores.
Recently, a proposal in San Francisco that would ban the sale of companion animals in pet stores has received a lot of attention in the popular media (CNN, Fox News and others). This proposal has proven to be quite controversial, with some people fiercely defending the ban and others strongly stating that the ban is unwarranted.
Why ban the sale of companion animals in pet stores?
One of the primary reasons to ban the sale of dogs, cats, puppies, kittens and other companion animals in pet stores is the fact that many of these animals come from puppy mills and similar facilities. These types of facilities have come under fire for the conditions in which the animals housed there are kept. Animals housed in these facilities have been found housed in small cages with wire bottoms and often receive very little socialization or human contact. Veterinary care for these animals is often lacking and many of the animals are sick and malnourished. Some of these facilities have even been found with dead animals housed next to or even in the same cage with live animals.
Supporters of the ban feel that removing pet stores as an outlet for the animals produced by these puppy mills and similar facilities will help to put these facilities out of business by removing the demand for the animals they produce.
Proponents of the ban also point to the large numbers of pets that are euthanized annually in shelters and humane societies throughout the United States. Many of these pets are the same pets that are currently being sold in pet stores throughout the country.
What do you think about banning pet sales in pet stores?
We would like to invite you to share your thoughts on this issue. Are you in favor of banning the sale of dogs, cats and other companion animals by pet stores? Do you feel this ban would have a significant impact on the puppy mills and similar facilities? Would you be in favor of offering shelter and rescue pets for adoption through pet stores instead of the currently available source of animals? Please share your comments below.
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The copyright of the article Should pet stores be banned from selling companion animals? is owned by Lorie Huston. Permission to republish Should pet stores be banned from selling companion animals? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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Comments
Way too many healthy pets are killed for space by shelters & so called humane societies!
KITTEN AND PUPPY MILLS BREEDERS ARE SOME OF THE LOWEST FORMS OF CRUEL HUMANS ON EARTH! LAW MAKERS OWNED BY LOBBYISTS REFUSE TO PROTECT MILL ANIMALS AND MAKE PROTECTIVE HUMMANE CARE LAWS!
THE ANSWER IS A NATIONAL BAN OF MILL KITTENS AND PUPPIES AND STOP THE SALE OF ALL NON-SHELTER ANIMALS.
Of course I think Puppymills should be shut down. But, there are a dozen no kill, open admission shelters in the US and Canada saving all healthy and treatable pets so they are proving that there are enough homes for all of the pets entering shelters. The reason that pets are being killed in some shelters is that the shelter directors and/or city bureacratics are too lazy or stubborn to join th e21st century and do what is necessary to get the animals into homes. It is just easier for them to kill so they do.
The killing in shelters can stop without banning pet sales. San Franicisco should know this. When the SF SPCA was a no kill shelter in the 90s, they were so successful that the pet stores couldn't compete and went out of business. Sounds like the SF shelters just want to blame everyone else for thir own laziness and incompetence. They need to go back to doing things the way Rich Avanzino did it.
I agree. THe selling of puppies and kittens, dogs and cats should be banned from pet stores. There is no reason an animal should be kept in such conditions. The pet stores here are terrible! I have seen the most terrible neglect and nothing is done! Puppies fighting for food, skinny, too big for the cages they are kept in, etc. I dont think there is a need to sell pets in a 'pet store' We all know they come from puppy mills and the ones that don't? Well, they are just uncaring,crappy breeders who shouldn't be breeding anyway. Who in there right mind would breed puppies and then sell them to a pet store?! Only people interested in making money... Why cant the pet stores work with rescues and shelters and offer programs to promote the adoption of these lost, abandoned and neglected pets? This is an ongoing,never ending problem. Until the stores are MADE to stop, and puppy mills are shut down, it will continue to encourage more breeding, more profit, and more suffering.
Shelters are to blame for killing -- you are a fool. If you think all animals are adoptable you're even more of a fool. Shelters have limited resources, time, cages (space), man-power (care-power), food, etc, resources must be spent on the most adoptable animals to increase the "outflow." Unfortunately a shot, worth $7, to humanely put down an extremely sick or un-adoptable animal is the only viable option most locations have.
That is, unless, you are capable or healing, training, fixing, feeding, playing, walking, and buying toys for the overflow of animals in every shelter in america.
Too many retail/wholesale/internet and hobby breeders contribute to the 6 to 7 million adoptable dogs/cats that are killed every year in the USA!! The state's animal control facilities put down these wonderful animals w/in 3 short days. Think of the $$ the govt. would save on not killing so many animals. These are indeed the same animals that can be found in current 'pet stores'!!
We need to stop the supply of these animals and that would definitely be curtailed by banning the selling of dogs/cats and making it unprofitable for people to breed them. It would also make people more aware of the availablility of great animals in the shelters, rescue groups and people trying to rehome their animals due to unfortunate circumstances. If we can't ban it, tax the hell out of it!!
Dr. Lorie, thank you so much for putting this vital question out for discussion. Sadly, the people who need to ponder this issue aren't the ones reading it. :-(
As I read through the comments I saw every aspect of this controversial subject represented except one - pet store advocates.
If you guys don't mind me cannonballing into the middle of your pool party, I'd like to offer a couple points.
First, I think mandatory sanctions against pet stores are about as awful as mandatory laws outlawing specific breeds and forcing neutering.
I wish we, as animal welfare advocates, could convince owners to voluntarily switch to 'selling' rescued animals. My local Petsmart does just that.
And as for shelters being to blame, well, that's the easy way out. The black-and-white way to see all this is that shelters kill, pet owners are irresponsible and fickle, and legislators couldn't care less.
I do believe shelter directors/managers of the largest shelters, (continued...)
(conclusion)...
...shelter directors/managers of the largest shelters, by virtue of their presence in their communities, can play the lead role in guiding us into a new way for the future.
They are, as a group, incredibly weak in animal knowledge, but most earn 6-figures - these bureaucrats aren't really very good at business, either. They seem afraid to get out into the community with dynamic marketing programs that educate. Ed Sayres, with the NY SPCA (ASPCA), knows how to do this well. Anyone ever seen Sarah and the parade of sad faces? That commercial's sole purpose is to bring in tens of millions of dollars, but does nothing to educate.
Few shelter directors find time to really get involved with legislators. Too busy cranking out employee etiquette rules?
Most people in any community have no clue about their local shelter - and yet we hold them accountable for so much. Gotta get out the word, people.
When a pet store like Petland says screw you, a boycott works!
i agree, band the sell of puppies. Instead adopt out the dogs that need homes. We have to many stray and dogs w out homes. Killed every day because of inrrsponsible people. And many of these puppies come from abuse pet parents that arfe never walk, no tlc, not vet care and many other horrible things. WHY are breeders still in business???? when we have so many dogs being killed in shelters!!!!! every day!!!! also getting a pet is a big responsibility. I feel that there needs to be more education towards getting a pet. They have needs that have to be meet just like kidz. I feel the forst year of a puppy is the more critical one, they need to be pooty train, shoew what to not chew on and be socialized and just giev them alot of tlc and some dicipline. I have tree dogs, and i have been with two of them since they were 2 months old. They have grown to be two very lovable and happy dogs. as for my third one i rescue him from the streets and he is learning simple things like were to pooty and come when call etc...a dog is like a kid. they look up to us to be shown what not to do. Having a dog is a bir reponsibility wiht a life time commitment. If you cant commit to you dog for their rest of their life, please do everyonr a favor a dont get one, unless you do want to take care of him and love him.
Hope this is one day banned! we need to take care of the ones already here. Intead of bringing in more to suffer in this world. this would take care of the problem of over population in dogs and cats. Also with some teaching in neutering and spaying! everyone please do the right thing, fix ur furry baby and dont buy adopt a dog that is sentence to death as doon as it enters nto a shelter that instead of protecting them they kill them. Thats there way of gettig rid of the problem, not knowing thsi is not fixing anything. This needs to be fix from the bottom ofthe problem wich its stars with breeders and er people breeding there dogs for mony...they are the problem of pet overpopulation!!! and the dogs are the ones paying for their negligence!!!!!!
yes they dhould ban of sell of dogs or any other animals. they should be adopted out not sold like if they were a thimg. As long as they put a price tag on them (wich I feel there is no price just like us humasn) they are going to view animals as things instead of beings capable of feeling everything we do.
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