end the retail sale of animals in pet stores
Expanding upon existing animal retail sales bans to include all animals such as small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fishes, arachnids, and hermit crabs will help prevent animal cruelty, protect biodiversity, and reduce stress on shelters and rescues.
The retail sale of these wild animals (“exotic pets”) is costing many of them their lives. Most die before they ever reach the store shelf.
Most animals sold in pet stores come from cruel breeding mills where thousands of animals are confined to small cages, container, and tanks without adequate food, water, or veterinary care. Sick and injured animals may be ignored or brutally killed. Some wild animals sold as “pets” are taken directly from their habitats in the wild. Even illegally trafficked animals may be laundered through breeding mills and falsely marketed as “captive-bred”. These animals have virtually no protections and are vulnerable to extreme abuse as the federal Animal Welfare Act is under-enforced for birds and small mammeals and does not protect reptiles, amphibians, and fishes at all.
Even after being purchased many suffer and die. Many languish in small cages and in inadequate conditions, others end up being dumped into habitats they’re not native to, and some are surrendered to shelters and rescues, which are already chronically overwhelmed with animals in need of homes. An estimated 75 percent of “exotic pets” die prematurely within a year of being purchased.
California has already taken steps to end the cruelty and suffering of “pet” industry by; banning the retail sale of cats, dogs, and rabbits in all pet stores in 2017, banning specific species of “exotic pets” including gerbils, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, and ferrets, and prohibiting the keeping native wildlife as pets. California cares about animals and we must expand upon existing law to include and protect all animals. That is why we are working in the San Francisco Bay Area to get local city-wide ordinances introduced and help end the exploitation and suffering of these animals.
About 500 localities have already passed retail animal sales bans to protect some animals. West Hollywood, CA, Arlington, MA, Washington DC, and Cambridge, MA have all passed comprehensive retail animals sales bans that protect all mammals, reptiles, fishes, and birds! Cities in the Bay Area will be next!
