No Dogs or Cats Sold in North Miami Beach

Cities all over the country are limiting pet stores sales, so dogs and cats (and sometimes rabbits too) can not be sold. Back on May 21 North Miami Beach Council members joined in the movement to limit pet store sales, which now exceeds wells over 40 cities.

The ordinance reads, “The City Council believes that eliminating the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores in the City will promote community awareness of animal welfare and, in turn, will foster a more humane environment as well as encourage pet consumers to adopt dogs and cats from shelters, thereby saving animals’ lives and reducing the cost to the public of sheltering animals.”

Overwhelmingly, the email I receive from readers, and calls on the radio I receive are in favor of similar bans, including the ones where I live in Chicago and in Cook County. However, those opposed says they are also horrified by puppy mills. I believe they are. What they can’t answer is why this issue of puppy mill dogs being sold at at least many pet stores has persisted for decades, and the industry has done nothing about it. Answers like “We will soon” or “We’re talking” no longer resonate. And the answer that that there is no problem, and pet stores never sell puppy mill dogs is today laughable.