San Francisco passes law forcing all pet shops to only sell RESCUE dogs and cats

San Francisco officials have voted to ban the sale of non-rescue dogs and cats at pet shops.

The amendment aims to tackle the prevalence of large-scale puppy mills, while helping to facilitate the adoption of thousands of animals already occupying the city's shelters.

The proposed ordinance does not prevent responsible breeders from doing business in the city. People can still adopt from local shelters or find a specific breed from any number of breed-specific rescues serving the area. Instead, the ordinance is designed to bring attention to and halt the inhumane and deceptive practices of large-scale breeding operations that supply animals to pet stores and directly to consumers online.

"Pet shops' greed fuels the cruel commercial breeding industry that keeps female dogs and cats prisoner inside filthy wire cages – whose only purpose is to churn out litters of inbred puppies and kittens who are then taken away from them, transported hundreds of miles, and sold," PETA's Mimi Bekhechi told The Independent.

"The city has recognized that animals are not commodities and that there's a direct link between the industry and the millions of dogs and cats in shelters around the world who are euthanised each year because there aren't enough good homes for them all."

District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang, who sponsored the legislation, also called on the US Agriculture Department to reinstate information on its website documenting animal cruelty cases, which was removed earlier in the month.

“This ordinance will serve as a deterrent, preventing a business from moving into San Francisco and selling animals from irresponsible mass-producing breeders that churn out puppies and kittens as if they were on an assembly line,” she wrote.

“Beyond protecting consumers and cutting off the supply chain, this ordinance also acknowledges San Francisco businesses for their humane business practices.”

San Francisco’s animal department, along with the city’s branch of the SPCA charity, re-home more than 6,000 animals each year.

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via Sunny Skyz and The Independent

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