San Francisco's Animal Control and Welfare Commission has postponed a vote to ban pet sales in the City of San Francisco for at least one month. The ban would include the sale of cats, dogs, birds, mice, hamsters, rats, and guinea pigs (the sale of rabbits and chicks is already illegal in San Francisco). The legislation has not yet been drafted, but this proposal would be broader than similar ordinances banning sales of cats and dogs only in the cities of West Hollywood, South Lake Tahoe, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to MSNBC, animal adoptions have increased by 23 percent and euthanasia at city shelters has decreased by 35 percent in Albuquerque since the ban went into effect in 2006.
The pet sale ban has been fiercely debated in San Francisco and nationwide, with pet-store owners denying accusations by animal activists that pet sales encourage puppy mills, kitten factories, and the impulsive pet buying that leads to abandonment of animals at shelters - where all too often their lives end with euthanasia.
Pet store owners claim that they operate humanely, without working with puppy mills, and that people who purchase pets from pet stores are as committed as people who adopt from shelters. Pundits like Bill O'Reilly have decried the proposal as anti-pet, implying that a ban on pet sales is one step away from banning pet ownership.
But O'Reilly's assertion is absurd - shelters are unfortunately always full, and shelter employees and volunteers work tirelessly to find home for the millions of abandoned animals that end up in shelters each year. We want everyone who can provide a loving home to adopt a pet and become a pet owner! Sadly, the Humane Society estimates that 4 million animals are euthanized annually in the United States. Given this surplus, anyone looking for a pet can find one easily at a shelter. In San Francisco, stores that sell pets would be encouraged to transition from pet sales to partnership with local shelters. Prospective pet owners could then adopt a pet and buy all of the supplies they need for their new companion at pet stores.
Currently, San Francisco is considering an alternative proposal requiring prospective pet owners to take an animal care class and to get a mandatory pet owner license before they would be allowed to buy an animal. The idea is that this would reduce the number of impulsive purchases of pets. This solution does not, however, address the issue of puppy mills and the larger problem of pet overpopulation.
Now is a crucial time to lobby the commission to reconsider the ban on pet sales. Here is how Kind Lifers can help:
If, in the next few months, the commission on animal welfare votes yes on the proposal to ban pet sales, the proposal will need to get sponsored by at least one, preferably two city board members, then the City Attorney will have to approve it before the board votes to pass the ordinance.
Other cities considering pet sale bans include Austin and El Paso, Texas – hopefully this signifies a growing trend and the beginning of the end of puppy mills. What laws exist where you live, and what do you see as the best solution for decreasing the problem of puppy mills, pet abandonment, and euthanasia?
A word about semantics - I much prefer the phrase "pet guardian" rather than "pet owner." I feel that I am my animals' guardian - I don't own them, they own me!! Just kidding, but seriously the idea that we can own another life is very strange to me. Do we own our children? Do we own our friends? This is my personal feeling, but many cities feel this way too, and have actually changed the language in their city codes to reflect that pet owners are also pet guardians. Cities that have updated the language of their laws to include the word "guardian" in addition to or in place of the word “owner” include West Hollywood, Calif., Boulder, Colo., Berkeley, Calif., Sherwood, Ariz., Amherst, Mass., Menomonee Falls, Wis., and the State of Rhode Island. Way to go guys!
