APPLETON – The city’s elected leaders will be considering a resolution on Wednesday banning pet shops from selling dogs and cats.
The move is a preemptive strike against puppy mills and kitten mills.
“Most of the puppies and kittens sold in pet stores come from large commercial breeding facilities where animal health and welfare are neglected in order to maximize profits,” the resolution said.
Joint Council member Vered Meltzer, one of the resolution’s sponsors, said Appleton did not have any of the activities that the resolution would regulate.
“We have a really good opportunity because this problem is not currently in our region,” said Meltzer. “This is a proactive move that I believe will protect the health of our residents as well as the health of their pets.”
The city’s security and permitting committee unanimously recommended the resolution to the city council.
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Appleton has three licensed pet stores: Petco, 3829 E. Calumet St .; Just Pets, 2009 N. Richmond St .; and Pet Supplies Plus, 702 W. Northland Ave.
Councilor Bill Siebers said everyone supported the resolution.
“There is currently no store selling dogs or cats, and there are no plans to do so,” Siebers said.
The resolution calls on the city to issue an ordinance banning large-scale commercial dog and cat breeding. Shelters, animal rescue organizations, or breeders who sell directly to the public are not affected.
It says
“No pet store may sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, gift, or otherwise transfer or dispose of cats or dogs. Nothing in this section prohibits pet stores from working with pet care organizations or animal rescue organizations to accommodate such facilities to accommodate adoptable dogs or Present cats provided the pet store does not have ownership of the animals offered for adoption and does not receive a fee for providing space for adoption. Dogs cannot be kept overnight. “
The ban would come into effect on July 1st.
The penalty for a violation would be a maximum of $ 200 for a first offense and $ 500 for a subsequent offense. Each dog or cat that is put up for sale is a separate infraction.
Whitewater passed a similar ordinance last year, but bans it affects rabbits as well as dogs and cats.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DukeBehnke.
