Last night, North Miami Beach council numbers officially put their paws down against selling pets in stores.
Officials approved an ordinance to ban the sale of commercially bred animals in the city, which means no offering up breeding mill-born dogs, cats, ferrets, gerbils, hamsters or rabbits.
The ban follows similar decisions in several other South Florida cities, including Hallandale Beach, Margate, and Lauderdale Lakes.
See also: Animal Agriculture Is Destroying the Planet
The ordinance, 2014-3, is designed to protect both animals and consumers. Consumers, proponents say, will be protected from purchasing sick animals or those with genetic defects from breeding issues. And animals, for obvious reasons, will be protected from harmful practices at puppy mills and other loosely regulated businesses that breed animals for sale.
Both retail sales of such pets and the pet mills themselves are prohibited within city limits.
The language of the ordinance cites unsanitary and inhumane "pet mills", HSUS stats on commercially-bred animals and animal cruelty, among other explanations and statistics.
The ordinance also 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."
Adopt, don't shop, folks!
Follow Cultist on Facebook and Twitter @CultistMiami.
