Parliament mulls ban on puppy, kitten pet store sales
Posted Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:39am AEST
The state Member for Sydney, Clover Moore, has introduced a Bill into New South Wales Parliament to ban the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores.
The Bill aims to stop the impulse purchase of pets, reduce the slaughter of unwanted dogs and cats, and put an end to backyard breeders and so-called 'puppy farms'.
Ms Moore, who is also the Lord Mayor of Sydney, says many pets are abandoned after being bought as puppies or kittens without adequate consideration of the costs and responsibilities required.
"What it will mean is that people will get their pets from a registered breeder or an animal pound or shelters or a local vet, where their needs can be matched with the animal," she said.
"[Then] there is an opportunity to see that people actually get the pet that they want or need or can look after."
The RSPCA has welcomed the introduction of the Bill, saying more than 60,000 pets are put down in NSW each year.
State branch chief executive Steve Coleman says many of those have been abandoned after the novelty of the pet-shop purchase wears off.
"Kids [and] some adults purchase animals on impulse, particularly when they're pups and kittens when they're cute," he said.
"When they become adult animals, the attraction is no longer there and the RSPCA ends up with a lot of those animals and having to euthanise them."
Posted in: ban pet shop sales on Monday, September 8, 2008 at at 7:07 PM
