City Passes Retail Pet Sale Ban

COLTON >> The City of Colton recently became one of handfuls of cities across the United States to pass a policy banning the commercial sale of pets, unless they have been retrieved from a city shelter or rescue agency of some sort. The goal of the policy is ultimately to lower the number of animals being purchased through irresponsible breeders and puppy mills in the country. The Colton city council passed the policy in June, and the policy became effective in July. From here on out, pet stores in Colton are required to acquire their pets for retail sale purposes through either a rescue organization or shelter or pound, rather than a puppy mill or someone who is illegally, irresponsibly breeding (typically referred to as a “backyard breeder.”) Ordinance No. O-09-16 Section 7.02.060 reads “No commercial establishment shall display, sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away, or otherwise transfer or dispose of dogs or cats in the City on or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section…This section shall not apply to: A commercial animal rescue shop that offers dogs or cats for an adoption fee; a publicly operated animal control facility or animal shelter; a private, charitable, nonprofit humane society or animal rescue organization; or a publicly operated animal control agency, nonprofit humane society, or nonprofit animal rescue organization that operates out of or in connection with a pet shop.” Colton joins the nearby Southern California cities of Los Angeles, Rancho Mirage, Chino Hills, Palm Springs and Indio, among others, in the rank of local ordinances striving to fight the statistics, as 7.6 million dogs and cats pass through the doors of animal shelters nationwide every year. Of that number, 2.7 million end up being euthanized because there are not enough resources to go around. Nationally, metropolitan hubs like Albuquerque, Austin, Toledo, Phoenix and Chicago, to name a few, have also passed similar legislation. To find out how you can help, visit Petfinder.com and find the nearest animal shelter or rescue group to your area, or visit your local pet store to bring home a furry friend.