San Francisco bans the sale of non-rescue animals in pet shops

Great news!

On the 14th of February, San Francisco announced its latest regulations in the world of animal welfare. Pet stores all across the city are now banned from selling non-rescue animals. Furkids under eight weeks old are also banned from being sold, in an effort to discourage the setting up of breeding mills, which are large-scale operations that breed puppies and kittens under inhumane conditions.

However, the new legislation would not affect responsible breeders, as the laws are meant to stop immoral breeders from supplying unhealthy pets to San Francisco pet stores. This also helps break the supply chain, in the hopes of shutting down puppy and kitten mills entirely and stopping the cruelty cycle. San Franciscans can still purchase pets directly from responsible and licensed breeders, or adopt from local shelters.

Besides shedding light on and banning such cruel practices, the new regulations have also been set up to protect consumers, as pets from breeding mills often end up unhealthy or behaviourally-challenged due to how they were bred and raised. Not only does this mean that the customers aren’t getting what they paid for, they also have to spend additional money on veterinary care.

San Francisco is not the only city in the U.S. to adopt such a measure. More than 200 cities and counties in the States, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Austin, all enforce similar legislation.

Katy Tang, one of the politicians who helped bring in the ban, said that the policies are in place so that pet stores will spend more time thinking about the animals’ health and well-being. Hopefully, this would help re-home more rescued animals, who would otherwise be stuck in a shelter or put to sleep. The San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control, along with the San Francisco SPCA, re-home more than 6,000 animals each year.