HomeMy WebLinkAboutElizabeth Oreck 7.8.21 Attachment 5
7 July 2021
Renton, WA Mayor and City Council
Sent Via Email
Re: Support for a humane pet sales ordinance for Renton
Honorable Mayor Pavone and Council members:
On behalf of Best Friends Animal Society and our Washington members, supporters and
partners, I am writing to encourage you to enact an ordinance to prohibit the retail sale of dogs,
cats and rabbits in Renton pet stores. We urge you to join Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Gig
Harbor, Kitsap County, Lacey, Olympia, Poulsbo, Tumwater and more than 400 other cities,
counties and states that prevent pet stores from selling commercially bred pets, and instead
allow for the adoption of pets sourced from shelters and rescue groups. The state did enact a
bill this year (HB 1424), but it only applies to future pet stores, giving localities the opportunity to
enact something stronger and more impactful to stop the puppy mill pipeline from coming into
their communities.
Pet mills, particularly puppy mills, are a serious problem in the U.S. These facilities, which
supply nearly all pet stores that sell puppies, are cruel and inhumane breeding factories in which
profit takes priority over the health, comfort and welfare of the animals.
Although the USDA regulates most commercial breeders, the minimum federal standards do not
ensure a safe or healthy life for pets. These types of kennels can legally have more than a
thousand dogs in one facility, and these dogs are allowed to be confined to cages only six
inches larger than their bodies for their entire lives, breeding continuously in order to produce as
many puppies as possible for the pet trade. And USDA inspection reports show that many
USDA-licensed breeders continue to sell animals to pet stores even after being cited for serious
violations at their facilities. In other words, having a USDA license does not guarantee humane
or responsible breeding.
Pet stores rely on commercial pet mills and their distributors to supply their pets because
reputable breeders won’t sell to pet stores for two simple reasons: it’s not financially viable and
they don’t sell to third parties. And this pledge never to sell a puppy to a pet store can be found
in every reputable breeder's code of ethics, including virtually all of the parent breed clubs of the
American Kennel Club (see attached document).
Because the focus is solely on profit, commercial breeding operations typically cut all possible
corners to keep their overhead low, at the expense of the health and well-being of their animals.
For the unsuspecting consumer, this frequently results in the purchase of a pet facing an array
of immediate veterinary problems or harboring genetic diseases that surface down the line. This
creates a financial burden on the consumer and can result in pets being surrendered to
overcrowded, taxpayer-subsidized shelters. Thus, this is not just an animal welfare issue but a
consumer protection concern.
Responsible breeders do not sell their animals in this manner. On the contrary, they encourage
potential buyers to visit the home where the animals were bred, they conduct an interview to be
sure the match is the best one for both the buyer and the animal, and they require a contract
that requires the buyer to provide good care, to spay and neuter the animal, and to return
him/her to the breeder if things don’t work out. These sensible provisions do not apply when
animals are sold through pet stores.
It makes little sense to continue manufacturing dogs, cats and rabbits while so many are being
killed for lack of space. Public education has been effective, but until communities take the
initiative to halt the supply of pets imported from substandard commercial facilities, there can be
no hope of preventing these unnecessary deaths.
Also concerning is the fact that 21 states have been hit by an outbreak of a dangerous strain of
bacteria (Campylobacter) that is linked to pet shop puppies. Campylobacter is resistant to
antibiotics and contagious to humans. Renton residents should not have to worry about being
exposed to this serious public health threat, particularly now, when public health is so
vulnerable.
Those who benefit most from companion animal sales in pet stores are the retailers themselves.
While they may profit from the practice of buying these pets at a low price from commercial
brokers and then selling them at a high price (typically without first spaying or neutering them), it
is the taxpaying public who pays for animal control to house and kill unwanted animals in the
community.
Pet stores that sell commercially bred pets can choose to be part of the solution rather than the
problem by phasing out the sale of animals in favor of other common revenue streams such as
pet product sales, grooming and day care, and by offering space for animal rescue
organizations to adopt out animals from those stores, as so many stores across the country
already do with great success.
Pet stores that have transitioned from selling companion animals to offering rescued pets for
adoption have found this animal-friendly model to be both viable and embraced by the
communities in which the stores are located. Therefore, a humane pet sales ordinance would
not prevent any pet stores from doing business, and would alleviate a significant burden on local
shelters and rescue groups by increasing pet adoptions. Further, it would not prevent anyone
from purchasing a pet directly from a private breeder.
Best Friends and our Washington members thank you in advance for considering this
reasonable and effective measure to protect consumers, pets and taxpayers in Renton. We
have been proud to work with the majority of the localities that have enacted humane pet sales
ordinances throughout Washington and beyond, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me if
there is anything we can do to help realize this effort.
Respectfully,
Elizabeth Oreck
National Manager, Puppy Mill Initiatives
Best Friends Animal Society
bestfriends.org/puppymills
elizabetho@bestfriends.org