Animal rights activists might quickly get their method if officers in San Francisco determine to ban pet shops from promoting stay animals.
Dozens and dozens of animal rights activists this week known as on the SF Animal Fee to vote on a Retail Animal Gross sales Ban that will prohibit shops within the metropolis from promoting any stay pets.
Through the fee assembly on Thursday, metropolis leaders heard from proponents who mentioned the ban would cease the “breeding mills” and “wild catching” of animals, like reptiles.
The proponents additionally declare that the ban would cease the neglect of animals, “invasive species,” and would resolve the issue of overcrowded shelters and rescues.
Animal and human rights activist Kitty Jones informed the fee that there’s a ton of help for the ban domestically, noting greater than 60 organizations have signed on to a letter calling for it.
Activists identified that there are 29 pet shops within the metropolis that solely provide companies comparable to grooming, boarding, provides and adoptions.
Solely 9 of town’s pet shops nonetheless promote animals, in accordance with officers.
These included a number of Petco’s, the Animal Connection, Pet Central SF, the Animal firm and Ocean Aquarium.
Pet store homeowners within the metropolis aren’t glad concerning the ban, and are prepared to combat.
“That is our livelihood,” one employee at Pet Central SF informed the San Francisco Chronicle. “It is a enterprise, that is what we depend on.”
The longtime proprietor of the Animal Firm, Rick French, mentioned it could simply be one other horrible coverage from town that makes it tougher for enterprise homeowners to function.
“Yet one more footstep in San Francisco making it too tough to run a enterprise.”
“They’re simply overreaching. It’s overboard,” he added. “I feel there may be going to be lots of pushback on it. We’re actually going to prepare and combat this as exhausting as we will.”
Julia Baran, the proprietor of the Animal Connection, mentioned that banning the sale of stay animals isn’t going to cease individuals from eager to get them.
“It gained’t cease individuals from getting the animal that they need,” Baran mentioned. “They could simply go to Craigslist or log on and get it shipped from throughout the nation.”
The Submit reached out to a number of pet shops in San Francisco for additional remark.
The fee ended up agreeing to ship a suggestion to SF Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisor to approve the ban.
Current state legal guidelines already prohibit the retail sale of cats, canines, rabbits, ferrets, gerbils, hedgehogs, and sugarglides (slightly nocturnal furry animal), officers famous.
The one animals bought in California shops lately are amphibians, fish, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, and reptiles.
In one other put up on on Fb, Jones famous that town of Albany, within the East Bay space of Alameda county, had not too long ago “unanimously voted in help of a retail animal gross sales ban.”
“Town will draft an ordinance and vote on that in a couple of weeks.”
Final 12 months, West Hollywood turned the primary metropolis in LA county to ban pet shops, per the Los Angeles Instances. The ban turned official Could 1, 2026. The report famous that animals at shelters and rescues can nonetheless be bought.
