Adopt, don’t shop? Soon, residents of Oceanside, California won’t have much of a choice.
The City of Oceanside has become the latest to ban the commercial sale of cats and dogs at pet stores in an effort to stop the distribution of so-called “puppy mill pets.” Wednesday’s ordinance was passed 3 to 2 with Council Members Jack Feller and Jerry Kern dissenting.
Oceanside’s ordinance is similar to a ban passed in San Diego in 2013. It will prohibit the retail sale of cats and dogs unless acquired from a shelter or other non-profit rescue organization. Breeders who sell less than 20 animals per year from the same location in which they were born will also be exempt from the new rules.
Sixteen other California cities have adopted similar bans. The efforts are supported by animal rights organizations who claim commercial pet stores help pet mills flourish.
“The fact is that pet mills, particularly puppy mills are in business to supply pet stores,” said Elizabeth Oreck, National Manager for Best Friends Animal Society. Many of those mills mass produce animals in poor conditions who later exhibit a number of health problems.
Similar laws elsewhere have prompted federal lawsuits. And at least one pet store owner—David Salinas of Oceanside Puppy—has signaled a willingness to consider legal actions of his own.
“We are a legitimate company and we care about what we do,” said Salinas, who used to operate a pet store in San Diego before the 2013 ban. This time, “I am not going to lay down and do nothing…” Salinas added.
The council is slated to give final approval to the ordinance on January 21. The new rules will take effect 30 days later.
Read more about the ordinance here.