With unwanted pets filling animal shelters, we have to stop treating living creatures like accessories, to be bought and discarded on impulse.
Victoria Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe is pushing one measure to help: She wants to ban sales of puppies, kittens or rabbits in pet stores. Those cute little faces in rows of cages are too great a temptation to buyers who take them home with little thought for what comes next.
Too often, what comes next is a trip to the animal shelter or a nearby forest to drop off a bundle of fur that is more responsibility than the impulse buyer bargained for.
A ban is not a new idea. Richmond was the first municipality in sa国际传媒 to bring in a prohibition, and dozens throughout North America have done the same.
The impetus for change has been building for years. Between bylaws and pressure from animal-welfare groups, few pet stores sell such animals. Thornton-Joe doesn鈥檛 think any stores in the city still sell them.
Making buying pets too easy and cheap promotes poor decisions and overpopulation. Going through the careful and often expensive process of buying from a reputable breeder forces would-be owners to give the matter a second thought. For those who don鈥檛 want to buy from a breeder, shelters and rescue groups always have pets looking for homes.
Buying a pet is a serious decision. Bylaw or no, don鈥檛 go looking for your new friend in a pet store.
