EXPLANATION OF REQUEST: According to the Humane Society of the United States, hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats in the United States have been housed and bred at substandard breeding facilities, known as “puppy mills” or “kitten factories,” that mass-produce animals for sale to the public, many of which are sold in pet stores. Studies have shown that cats and dogs that are bred in puppy mills or kitten factories may arrive in pet stores and their new homes with giardia, parvovirus, and distemper, illnesses that can be transmitted to healthy family animals. According to the Humane Society of the United States, Florida has one of the highest number of consumer complaints about puppies purchased from pet stores.
City staff recommends that the retail sale of dogs and cats in the City of Boynton Beach be prohibited, to encourage pet consumers to adopt dogs and cats from shelters, thereby saving animals’ lives and reducing the risk of exposing the community to the illnesses that may be transmitted by animals coming from pet stores.