The Town of Okotoks should ban the sale of dogs and cats in commercial properties in Okotoks, say people at a Jan. 29 demonstration in front of a local pet store.
“This is one of those sort of topics where, yes it’s emotional but you’re also dealing with living things that aren’t necessarily a product and that is also a huge issue that is bigger than the Town of Okotoks,” said demonstration organizer Tracey Mahdi.
She said many cities have banned the sale of puppies on commercial properties, while some pet stores have stopped selling puppies and encourage people to support rescue organizations.
The demonstration was held in front of Okotoks Animal House protesting the sale of puppies at the business. Animal House owner Ty Marshall said his animals come from reputable breeders and each is given a clean bill of health from a veterinarian.
Mahdi said the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores needs to be banned and she hopes Okotoks council will consider it.
“I’m really hoping they would at least entertain hearing somebody talk about it,” she said.
Mahdi said the hallmark signs of a puppy mill are high volume and multiple litters and large profit margins.
She said dogs that come from puppy mills often have poor health and socialization.
Mahdi said she realizes people don’t want to support puppy mills or unethical breeders, but in many cases they aren’t aware of the issue.
She said it's a matter of being a responsible pet buyer, adding people should ask to see where the puppies come from, meet the animal’s parents and see health records.
“People need to be educated because these people are getting duped into buying the puppies because of course the puppies are cute,” said Mahdi. “You can’t see what’s going on inside that puppy, you don’t know the environment that puppy’s coming from and you don’t know what kind of condition the parents are in.”
Okotoks resident Chelsea Kirker said an online petition has been organized and supporters plan to take the issue to town council to approve a bylaw to implement the ban.
She said there are better ways to purchase animals than from retail stores.
“I am out here to raise awareness, to educate people, the citizens in Okotoks that this is not the right way to purchase a puppy,” said Kirker.
Marshall said any move to ban the sale of puppies and cats in commercial businesses will push it online.
“To say they’re going to ban the commercial sale of puppies, it does nothing,” he said. “The breeders are going to be selling on their own now instead of using a store. As far as taking a store out of the picture, it doesn’t benefit anyone.”
Marshall said there’s no knowing who people are buying from when they purchase a puppy online and no guarantees about the animal, compared to a retail store such as his.
“You don’t know if those people are going to disappear or honour their guarantees, you don’t know anything,” he said. “We have a guarantee that’s clearly outlined.”
Roland Lines, Alberta SPCA communications manager, said there are already a sizable number of animals being sold in private transactions and they aren’t able to monitor that market.
“Our experience is that at the current time far more animals exchange hands in a grey market than in stores,” he said.
Lines said he would not comment on whether animals should be sold in commercial pet stores. It’s an issue for municipal authorities to handle, he said.
“We don’t shut down animal operations,” said Lines. “We may have reason to take all of their animals away from the owner, but even if we took all the animals away from the owner, that doesn’t mean it can put that store out of business.”
Even when SPCA officers seize animals from a breeder, Lines said it would take a court order to prevent an owner from replenishing their stock.
According to Lines, the SPCA’s position is that there are already a large number of dogs and cats in shelters across the province and it would rather see those animals find homes before more are bred for sale.
“Whether you’re buying an animal online, or meeting somebody in a parking lot in an animal or buying it in a pet store, we would really ask that people take some time to think about where the animal has come from,” he said.
People need to ask questions whenever they are purchasing an animal, said Lines, including asking to see the animal’s parents and where they’re housed, ask for supporting documents and veterinary information, as well following up with the veterinary clinic.
“People need to remember that they’re buying a living creature, so there should be some extra diligence around where it’s coming from, just as you need to be able to make sure you’re able to look after it,” he said.
Mahdi agreed there is already a problem with animals being sold online. She said there are groups who are trying to get websites such as Kijiji to put stronger regulations in place regarding the sale of animals on their sites.
Ultimately, she said there is too much difference between what the law says someone can do and what they should be doing and animal laws need to be toughened.
“I think the larger problem is the laws in our province are extremely lacking,” she said. “Something may not necessarily be illegal, but it may not necessarily mean that it's the right thing to do.”
