humanesociety.org
Vancouver became the latest city to ban the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits at local pet stores after a motion was unanimously approved by the City Council yesterday.
Addressing the fact that commercial breeding facilities, particularly in Asia and the United States, routinely raise animals in “horrible conditions” that include neglect, abuse, and agony, City Councilmember Heather Deal made the recommendation that now mandates retail outlets to only present pets available for adoption through recognized animal rescue organizations.
“As a result of the inhumane conditions these animals are produced in, they often suffer from disease, and other physical, emotional and behavior problems,” stated the motion.
Toronto Star
“It’s not what people want in the City of Vancouver,” Deal told CTV Vancouver on Wednesday. “We’ve had over 1,200 emails from people telling us to please implement this ban.”
In a CBC article published earlier this week Deal said the city has “200 to 300 dogs given away a year alone in the City of Vancouver shelter.”
The news follows on the heels of two other B.C. municipalities that have enacted similar policies, Richmond and New Westminster.
The move is supported by the B.C. SPCA’s chief enforcement officer Marcie Moriarty, who confirmed that retail stores selling dogs and cats are soon to become a thing of the past.
“There is a movement throughout North America to go this way,” she said in the article. “Times have changed, and people need to be a bit more aware of where their pets are coming from.”
“This is a great day for the animal welfare and protection movement. The fact that this pet shop ‘humane model’ has now migrated to Canada, which started from local ordinances our group Social Compassion In Legislation began spearheading in 2008 in Southern California and is now jumping borders to Canada is amazing,” said Judie Mancuso, founder and president of California animal advocacy group, Social Compassion In Legislation stating that the moment has come to evolve on this very important issue of our time. “It illustrates a generational shift that supports the humane treatment of dogs, cats, and rabbits.”
