Cats and dogs' sales banned from pet stores

[Bruine1 0]

Lu dans le Toronto Star:
Si seulement cette loi pouvait passer ici...


Back to Council candidate wants to ban sales of cats and dogs in pet stores
Council candidate wants to ban sales of cats and dogs in pet stores
August 06, 2010

Jennifer Yang and Jasmeet Sidhu


Ian Butt, 27, manager of the Feed Me More Pet Foods on Church St., holds a kitten for sale for $150. "There's no reason why pet stores shouldn't sell pets as long as they are careful where the are getting the animals," he says.

JASMEET SIDHU/TORONTO STAR

Those puppy-dog eyes. That cute furry face. The tiny tail that won’t stop wagging when you press your face against the glass window.

There is nothing more irresistible than an adorable animal in a pet store and Dean Maher knows this.

But Maher, who is running for city councillor in Ward 20-Trinity Spadina, also sees the animals that wind up neglected or languishing in shelters. So, on Aug. 13, Maher will appear before the city’s licensing and standards committee to propose a city-wide ban on the sale of cats and dogs from pet stores.

“Why would you buy a kitten when the Humane Society is packed with cats?” Maher said Thursday night. “I’m hoping that removing the impulse buying from the pet shop will make people better pet owners.”

But Ian Butt, manager of Feed Me More Pet Foods near Church and Wellesley Sts., hopes the bylaw never sees the light of day.

“I’m opposed to it,” says Butt, 27, whose store sells both cats and dogs. “There’s always this negative stigma with pet stores. But there’s no reason why pet stores shouldn’t sell pets as long as they are careful where they are getting the animals.”

Under Maher’s proposal, all pet stores, flea markets and retail shops would be banned from selling cats or dogs. Registered humane societies and rescue centres would be exempt.

Maher wants to reduce the number of unwanted animals in the city and in his report, he points to alarming statistics that say more than 25,000 dogs and cats were euthanized by Toronto Animal Services between 2002 and 2007.

“That number alone says to me animals are just too easily picked up and dropped off and thought of as disposable,” Maher said. “Hopefully in the long run, (banning pet shop sales) will reduce unwanted animals.”

While Maher doesn’t think his proposed bylaw will solve the problem completely, he feels it would be a “very significant step” towards reducing unwanted animals and promoting more humane treatment. Removing cats and dogs from pet stores would also force prospective owners to do more research before buying their pets, he said.

Veterinarian Dr. Kenneth Hill, who owns Bloor Mill Veterinary Hospital, is supporting Maher’s bylaw proposal and has written a letter of support, asserting a ban would help reduce the number of puppy and kitten mills that often keep pet stores stocked.

He said pet store employees also tend to be poorly-trained and under-informed when it comes to properly advising prospective pet owners.

“This results in pet owners who become dissatisfied with their pet or who are unable to cope with breed-specific behaviour and health issues,” Hill wrote. “Dogs and cats are then prone to suffer neglect or in worse case scenarios show-up in veterinary offices to be euthanized.”

Maher expects his ban will be well-received by Torontonians and feels confident his proposal will be approved by committee to go before city council. He pledges to continue pursuing the issue even if he isn’t elected as city councilor in October.

Butt, however, contends pet stores can responsibly sell cats and dogs.

The Church St. pet store manager says his store buys from home breeders and tries to ensure older pets are sold before bringing in a fresh crop of kittens and puppies. He says he would be saddened to see the ban implemented — not only would he lose revenue, he would also lose the opportunity to sell pets to first-time owners.

“For independent stores, they are a good place for people who are first-time pet owners,” he argues. “Yes, I think, cats and dogs are overbred. At the same time, I don’t think people who are inexperienced pet owners should be getting pets from shelters.”

Butt would like to see stricter regulations placed on pet stores rather than an outright ban.

“Make them a little more strict,” he says. “But completely banning (pet store sales) altogether is not the answer.”

According to Maher’s report, Toronto had 27 registered pet shops as of March 28, eleven of which sold cats or dogs. In his bylaw proposal, stores currently selling dogs or cats would have one year to sell off their inventory.

[Shanti1 0]

GOODDD au Danemark, c'est comme ça. J'approuve quand même aussi la formule du Petsmart qui met en adoption des animaux de refuges (chats adultes ou chatons) en collaboration avec les Humane Society du coin.

[gamine11 0]

ben si ça peut suivre ici, je serais vraiment contente. j'aprouve également le virement de petsmart avec des animaux abandonnés. Tout comme Mondou ou autre centre d'animaux qui encouragent l'adoption d'animaux abandonnés.

Je pense qu'il ya aussi un autre pays d'Europe qui a adopté une telle loi. Belgique ou Suisse, désolée je ne m'en rappelle plus

[Whippy11 0]

Smileys qui fait une prière.

On a de l'ouvrage sur la planche avant que ca nous arrive, faut pas désespérer. Merci pour l'article

[Jaelle1 0]

Citation :

“For independent stores, they are a good place for people who are first-time pet owners,” he argues. “Yes, I think, cats and dogs are overbred. At the same time, I don’t think people who are inexperienced pet owners should be getting pets from shelters.”

Euh, ben oui, c'est vraiment mieux d'acheter un chiot jack russell de puppymill que le petit commis de 16 ans nous a recommandé que de faire affaire avec un refuge qui évalue ses chiens et qui veut leur trouver une famille qui va vraiment être capable de répondre aux besoins du chien!!!

Et c'est vrai, tsé, les éleveurs eux, c'est pas une autre option entre le refuge et le petshop?

[Bruine1 0]

Ce que j'aime aussi c'est cette citation:

... In his bylaw proposal, stores currently selling dogs or cats would have one year to sell off their inventory.

Inventaire...
Cela en dit long sur le concept inhérent qu'on a des animaux.
C'est de l'inventaire.

En passant, vous pouvez aller sur le site du Toronto star et voter pour cette loi.
Je sais que ce n'est pas chez nous mais si nos voisins passent cette loi, ça va créer un précédent qui fera peut-être des vagues ici.

Allez donc voter, c'est juste un clic sur un rond...
C'est sur la page d'ouverture du site, juste un peu en bas à droite sous 'have your say'.
www.torontostar.ca

[felony1 0]

bonne nouvelle

[yanickabandit1 0]

cool enfin je suis bien contente de vivre en ontario :D
je suis justement aller au petsmart hier et j'ai remarquer les affiche de chien en adoption(de refuge)
espérons qu'il passe cette loi au quebec maintenant .

[Evy02 0]

Citation :

Should sales of cats and dogs be banned from retail stores in order to try and reduce the number of unwanted animals? Yes (75%) No (25%) Total Votes: 6619

Je suis agréablement surprise des résultats du sondage

[Bruine1 0]

Evy a écrit:

Citation :

Should sales of cats and dogs be banned from retail stores in order to try and reduce the number of unwanted animals? Yes (75%) No (25%) Total Votes: 6619

Je suis agréablement surprise des résultats du sondage

6619?

Bonne nouvelle, hier quand j'ai voté c'était à moins de 5000!!!

[Bruine1 0]

Je suis retourné voir.
8048 votes.
Toujours 75% en faveur.

[Capricorne 0]

Contente de voir que ça d'lair d'une bonne nouvelle

C'est surement sa l'avantage de vivre à Montréal ou Québec..Tu comprend l'anglais