By Sasha Azeez
Bylaw passed to ban the sales of commercially bred dogs in pet stores. (Courtesy Sasha Azeez)
The City of Brampton passed a new by-law this week prohibiting the sales of privately bred dogs and cats in pet stores.
The new rule comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.
The push for the ban began with a photo of a sickly-looking cat named Chloe. It surfaced the internet after being taken at a pet store in Brampton.
“This caused outrage in the community, so after that myself and another girl [Erin Schreader] created a petition that got over 80,000 signatures to ban the sales of dogs and cats, unless the animals have come from a shelter or rescue,” Angela Ward told Humber News on Thursday.
Ward, a team leader at All Paws Rescue Group, based out of Mississauga and Brampton, says the bill was passed on Monday.
It took nearly a year and a lot of hard work to process, she said.
“We created a lengthy proposal and submitted it to Grant Gibson, a city councilor in Brampton, who then brought the issue forward to other city councilors,” said Ward.
Coun. Grant Gibson urged his fellow councillors to take into consideration puppy mill issues, and the public outcry for change.
“What I did was ask staff to look at what other municipalities are doing so we can make an informed decision on whether or not we should be banning the sale of cats and dogs that are coming from mills,” Gibson told Humber News.
The city of Toronto banned the sales of privately bred cats and dogs in 2011, and Mississauga followed in 2012.
“This is an issue I felt strongly about personally,” said Gibson.
When people buy commercially bred dogs and cats from stores, they may think they’re buying healthy animals when they’re not.
Organizations like the humane society keep track of all the animals’ information and vaccines, Gibson said.
Ward and Gibson both agree there is a lot of work still to be done including having the federal government restrict the sales of household bred animals.