SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s most populous county banned the sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in pet stores, joining a growing number of cities around the country in a step designed to reduce the number of pets born in inhumane conditions.
Some of the nation’s largest pet companies already have moved away from such sales in favor of offering animals from shelters, and a vote this week added Salt Lake County to a list of nearly 90 municipalities that have passed measures targeting so-called puppy and kitten mills. And that number is growing, advocates say.
“There are great pets that need a home. We don’t need to make more,” said Deann Shepherd, spokeswoman for the Humane Society of Utah.
But pet stores say the rule, which also includes rabbits, unfairly targets local shops with a good track record on animal welfare.
“I don’t sell puppy-mill puppies,” Todd Poulsen, owner of Mark’s Ark Pet Store in Taylorsville, said Wednesday. “They want to close down their pet stores just in case we do.”
Pets from mills are kept in crowded, unsanitary kennels and many don’t have adequate access to veterinary care, food or water, animal advocates say.
A shop called Puppies ‘N Love in Phoenix sued to challenge a similar ordinance passed in 2013, but a judge upheld it in July. U.S. District Judge David Campbell acknowledged that it will burden the business but said it was not the court’s place to judge the fairness of the city ban.
The measure in Utah applies to unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County. Though Poulsen’s store is not affected by the ban, he’s worried about it starting a domino effect.
There are no stores in the city or unincorporated parts of the county that actually sell commercially bred pets — even though they are two of the biggest population centers in the state, officials said.
Two of the biggest pet retailers in the country, PetSmart and Petco, already have moved to offering shelter dogs.
