Ban sale of kittens also

Open letter to Mayor Brodie,

In 2010, the City of Richmond became the first city in Canada to ban the retail sale of puppies. This precedent setting move has paved the way for other cities across the country. As you may know, since the Richmond puppy ban, Toronto has banned the sale of all animals in pet stores, Mississauga has banned the sale of puppies and kittens and both Burnaby and Calgary will be reviewing their current legislation in the fall.

In the same year, the city also banned the retail sale of rabbits. Curiously, the sale of kittens was not included in either of these motions tabled before city council and as a result, two years later, one of the pet stores impacted by the puppy ban, not only continues to sell kittens, but does so at an alarming rate. At the time of writing this letter, there are 33 kittens housed in five cages. The close confinement of cats is very dangerous, as it can lead to a dangerous, even deadly, outbreak of upper respitory infections.

In a city of less than 200,000 residents, Richmond has a very large homeless animal population being served by an SPCA Adoption and Education Centre, the largest cat sanctuary in North America. There is no shortage of cats available for adoption, the sanctuary alone is home to 700 to 900 cats.

For as long as Richmond permits the retail sale of cats, these animals will continue to suffer. Many of them will be dumped in local parks and forested areas and surrendered to your local shelter funded through municipal taxes. As a city that also prides itself on its no kill policies, the only way to begin to reduce the overpopulation of cats is to ban the sale of them in pet stores.

We respectfully request city council amend the existing bylaw to include a ban on the sale of cats.

Kathy Powelson Executive Director, Paws for Hope Animal Foundation