It’s perfectly legal for pet shops in Newmarket to sell puppies and kittens, but all that may soon change as the town explores new rules and regulations for the sale of pets at retail stores.
Newmarket is also updating its current animal control bylaw and you are invited to share your feedback and concerns at a public meeting to be held tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Municipal Office, 395 Mulock Dr.
A new pet store licensing practice would address the sale of pets, ethical sourcing of pets for sale, and how retailers treat the animals they sell.
Right now, pet stores in Newmarket are not required to have a business licence, and there are no municipal restrictions on the sourcing or care of the animals.
In fall 2018, local animal advocates began a campaign to persuade the Town of Newmarket to ban pet shop puppy sales. Resident Emiley Sheppard spearheaded that movement that saw more than 3,400 people sign a Change.org petition on the subject.
The Canadian Kennel Club forbids its member breeders to sell dogs to pet stores, so they can only be coming from unregistered breeders, backyard breeders and puppy mills, Sheppard said at the time.
Puppy mills, also known as puppy farms, are a multi-million dollar business in Canada that finds commercial breeders mass-producing puppies in substandard conditions for sale to pet stores and flea markets, and online.
Humane Canada says that puppy mills are "horrendous places that churn out as many puppies as possible, in the shortest amount of time and at the lowest expense. That means terrible, filthy, crowded housing, minimal human contact, no veterinary care and unspeakable suffering."
At Thursday’s drop-in event at the town office, you can visit booths to speak with staff and community partners about:
- The town’s current animal services program, including the DocuPet annual licensing process
- Proposed changes to current regulations, including tethering of animals
- Animal shelter and wildlife services
- Provincial changes regarding animal welfare and protection that came into force Jan. 1,2020
- Best practices in other municipalities
- Role of York Regional Police in animal welfare
If you can’t attend, the town encourages you to share your feedback online.
For more information and to take the survey, visit here.
