We love our pets, our dogs, cats, fish, birds, and even snakes, but a new law proposed in San Francisco may ban the sale of all pets.  Yes, all pets, every fish, gerbil, rat, pony, bunny or anything else that flies, crawls, wags, slithers, swims or runs, would be included into this law.

What Is The Humane Pet Acquisition Proposal?

The proposal, pushed forward originally to curtail puppy mills and kitten factories, has now been broadened to include all animals with fur or feathers.  Originally, the proposal was designed to ban the sale of all pets in the city in order to encourage the adoption of unwanted creatures from shelters and rescue organizations.  There is one caveat to this proposal, snake food.

Additionally, the proposal would not affect the selling of live animals for eventual human consumption.  This means markets could continue selling live fish, poultry, turtles or seafood.

Why Ban All Pet Sales?

There are a few reasons for this proposal banning pet sales.  This includes the concerns of the San Francisco Animal Care and Control agency which supports this ban, especially on “smalls”- animals like hamsters, which are euthanized at her city shelter at a higher percentage.  The SPCA in San Francisco says that this is likely to have little impact on actual pet stores, since there are only a handful in San Francisco that sell animals of any kind.

Others are against this plan claiming it will hurt their business.  Jonathan Ito, a pet store owner, claims that “it would put us out of business and our employees out of work.”  He doesn’t believe that the pet stores cause the overcrowding at the shelters and argues against some who claim that parents impulsively buy small, cute creatures that will later be tossed aside by bored children.

What do you think?  Should the sale of pets be prohibited?