ST. CLAIR SHORES (WWJ) - One councilmember in St. Clair Shores hopes to further crack down on animal breeding mills by adopting a Humane Society ordinance within the city.
The proposal was introduced by Councilman David Rubello on Monday and would prohibit the sale of cats and dogs in retail pet stores, as reported by the Macomb Daily. St. Clair Shores currently has an "animal and fowl" ordinance in place, but Rubello would like to merge the two and "revamp" the language to fit in with existing local laws.
Related
While none of the pet stores in the city currently sell cats or dogs, Rubello said the ordinance would be a preventative measure to protect puppy mills from selling and operating in St. Clair Shores in the future.
“Puppy mills are bad and pet stores are probably their number one customers, so if we can cut their customers off, this will greatly reduce what puppy mills are doing," Rubello said.
The Humane Society ordinance has already been enacted in over 400 cities across the nation. Animal advocates hope future changes expand beyond just cats and dogs -- there has been movement to add rabbits and ferrets, two animals that often face exploitation by breeding mills. The Humane Society has also discussed legal penalties for violating its ordinance, making the first offense a civil infraction and second violation a misdemeanor.
Currently, pet stores that host adoption events put on by local animal shelters are not affected by the proposal.
There has been some hesitation from other councilmembers regarding the language of the ordinance. Councilman Chris Vitale and Councilwoman Candice Rusie both agree that there could be some issues and want the advice of the city's Animal Welfare Committee.
“I’m not against this idea, I just want to make sure we are doing it the right way and giving it the attention it deserves,” said Rusie.
One opponent of the proposal, Councilman John Caron, said legal issues could pop up from retail pet stores if the ordinance prohibits them from selling cats and dogs, yet permits local breeders and residents to do so.
Related
“Dogs and cats are members of our family, but they are also property and they do get bought and sold,” said Caron. “How are we telling a business they can’t sell dogs and cats but an individual can?"
Rubello, who owns several beagles, passionately responded that comparing animals to products wasn't right.
“A pet, a dog, a cat, a rabbit; they are not a box of Wheaties in a store,” said Rubello.
“They are not a commodity. These are people’s pets. This is a living thing. If you want to compare that to a box of Cheerios, that’s not right and it is not humane.”
The next St. Clair Shores City Council meeting will held on Feb. 22 at City Hall on 27600 Jefferson Ave. The meeting will start promptly at 7 p.m.
