Retail sale of dogs, cats might be banned

A number of federal and state laws are designed to regulate the breeding of domestic animals, and to safeguard against cruel practices, said City Atty. Scott Howard. But some cannot be effectively enforced, and others have significant loopholes.

And it is impossible for any city to independently verify that each dog and cat sold at local businesses comes from legitimate breeders, Howard said, hence the emergence of the blanket ban.

“It is a huge enforcement issue,” Howard said. “We would not know, for example, if a breeder from Kansas is a breeder that follows animal welfare procedure.”

A ban could also serve to reduce the number of animals on city streets, he added.

“It would also encourage the adoption of animals from shelters, which would limit the number of animals that have to be euthanized at shelters and hopefully begin to address the overpopulation of animals that are kept in those shelters,” Howard said.

Any ordinance would include a clause that would allow retailers that currently sell dogs and cats a “reasonable period of time” before they have to comply with the law, probably three to five years, Howard said.

The ordinance must still be drafted and come back in coming months for a vote.

The discussion drew a dozen animal rights activists and at least one pet store owner to City Hall, where they described a potential ban on retail pet sales as “good public policy” and urged council members to push it through.