Pet shops in Encinitas, California must now comply with a new ordinance (law) which makes it obligatory for them to only display and display cats and dogs from shelters or non-profit humane societies.
Selling cats and dogs produced at commercial breeders is illegal. There is a growing trend for this sort legislation and very welcome it is too. This is the fourth city (after: San Marcos, San Diego, and Chula Vista) in San Diego County to adopt this sort of ban and there are 80 such cities in the USA. The council voted unanimously at 4-0 with one member absent.
The new legislation is a preventative, proactive measure as there are currently no ‘pet sales businesses’ in the city. As a consequence some people argued the law was not required. I favour putting these laws in place nonetheless as they set the tone and prevent future attempts at setting up stores selling cats and dogs from puppy mills.
Steve MacKinnon, the chief of humane law enforcement for the San Diego Humane Society said that puppy mills are,
“nothing short of commercially sanctioned animal cruelty.”
We can all concur with that.
MacKinnon said that most of the commercial breeders are in the Midwest. The animals are trucked in over thousands of miles for sale in California.
Supporters of the new law said that they would take the streets and create picket lines if someone tried to open one of these pet stores. This is another example of the willingness of passionate animal lovers to protest and have their voice heard when needs must.
Presently, there are three pet stores in the city: Petco, Petsmart and Pet Haus and they all display and sell rescue animals and host adoption events. This is great.
Thanks EJ for stopping by and commenting.