Ontario retailer tackles 'ban' bylaw

In November, the city council in Welland, Ontario, approved a bylaw to regulate pet stores in the city that sell dogs, cats and rabbits. 

Earlier in the year, city residents presented council with a 1,500-signature petition to ban the sale of pets in stores in an effort to counteract unscrupulous breeding. At the council meeting, Barry Luther, owner of Niagara Pet Corner, the city's only shop that would be affected by the ban, presented council with his own 750-signature petition asking the city not to impose the ban. 

READ MORE: Regulations imposed on pet store owner 

Council's decision not to ban the sale of puppies and kittens and instead support a recommended bylaw from city staff to regulate pet stores and give additional power to the SPCA is being commended by pet retailers across the country as well as by PIJAC and PIJAC Canada.

READ MORE: Effective Advocacy: Niagara Pet Corner and PIJAC Canada 

"We applaud Welland for choosing not to adopt an outright ban and see this case as a roadmap for effective advocacy," said PIJAC President and CEO, Ed Sayres in an opinion editorial. "Transparency, conversation and collaboration won the day, with everyone involved in the process making a meaningful contribution to reaching a compromise." 

READ MORE: A Postmortem evaluation of Vernon's 'Ban' decision 

Ed Sayres on commercial breeding and retail bans

New President and CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, Ed Sayres, is standing behind the organization's position on the banning of retail pet sales. 

READ MORE: What's next for Retail Bans and Commercial Breeding?

Earlier this week, Sayres posted an opinion piece on the PIJAC website where he stated that sub-standard operators make up a small percentage of breeders in the U.S. and they are giving the entire pet industry a bad name. 

"The truth is that most breeders are getting it right. Many are not just meeting but exceeding humane standards of care with state-of-the-art facilities where puppies get the best veterinary care, a healthy diet, clean, spacious kennels and safe comfortable transportation," he said. 

"Given that fewer than 10 percent of all dog owners buy their dogs from pet stores, restricting pet store sales will do little to address the underlying problem of sub-standard breeders." 

READ MORE: For the Love of Pets, Give Consumers Choice

Pet owners disagree with pet-sale bans

By an overwhelming margin, America's dog and cat owners say the best way to crack down on illegal puppy mill operators is not to ban the sale of dogs and cats at local pet stores, as a handful of local communities have done, but rather to enact and enforce tougher breeder standards (67.3%).

READ MORE: What's next for retail bans and commercial breeding? 

The Pet Leadership Council, a coalition of pet industry leaders championing responsible pet ownership, commissioned Harris Poll to conduct an online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older to determine American's views on puppy mill regulations. 

READ MORE: APPA Board Approves Formation of New Pet Leadership Council

Highlights of the poll include: 

• Nine in ten (89%) U.S. adults say the solution to puppy mills is to have tougher breeder standards that crack down on illegal operators
• Four in five (81%) U.S. adults say banning dog sales entirely at pet stores will not stop puppy mills from continuing
• 92% of U.S. adults report follow-up visits to breeders are needed to ensure regulations are being followed to avoid puppy mills 
• Over six in ten (63%) U.S. adults own a pet: 59% own a cat and/or dog

READ MORE: How best to eliminate puppy mills? Pet owners prefer tougher breeder standards over pet-sale bans

Join this important conversation by registering for the 2014 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies, October 22-25. Get the facts, have YourSAY™, move the industry! 

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What's next for retail bans and commercial breeding?

Controversial legislation in municipalities across North America is sparking debate between the pet retail industry and animal rights activists.  

In Phoenix, AZ, last month, city councillors voted to pass a law prohibiting the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores. Adoption models prevail under this legislation as only rescues would be available in shops.

READ MORE: Phoenix's attempt to curb puppy mills challenged

Earlier this year, InfoStream reported that four leading U.S. organizations were joining together to support a pending lawsuit challenging this prohibition. The American Pet Products Association (APPA), the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), the Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA) and the World Pet Association (WPA) collectively donated $125,000 to support the lawsuit brought into the U.S. District Court in Phoenix on behalf of a local pet store, Puppies ‘N Love.

READ MORE: Leading industry organizations join forces to overturn retail ban

The new law is aimed at mass-breeding facilities (often called puppy mills) but APPA President Bob Vetere said Bans of this nature often punish stores and breeders who sell quality pets and breeds unavailable in shelters.

“These restrictions threaten our industry,” he said. “By working together to overturn these types of bans, we can use this opportunity to establish better standards for both breeders and pet stores.”

READ MORE: Petland CEO defends retail sale of pets

The industry banding together to fight this and funding the fight brings the sourcing discussion to a new level. A Certified Quality Mark developed and regulated by the Alliance for Urban Animals is one of several relevant and crucial conversations taking place at the Urban Animal Forums on Friday 24 October at the 2014 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies.   

Advocates on either side of this debate are invited to attend the Summit and participate in these discussions to help ensure the conversation moves forward in a direction acceptable to all involved parties.

A Postmortem evaluation of Vernon's 'Ban' decision

Recently, Vernon municipal council voted ‘No’ to a ban on the retailing of pets. This situation became an interesting case study, as it was an example of how the PIJAC Canada toolkit was used in a community having a ‘Ban Conversation’. Last week, InfoStream caught up with Louis McCann (LM), Executive Director, PIJAC Canada, and Lisa Badach (LB), proprietor of AJ’s Pets to capture this story.

InfoStream (INFO):  Thanks to both of you for taking time to speak with us about the Vernon ‘Ban’ episode. Lisa how long has AJ’s Pets been servicing the community of Vernon?

Lisa:  Andrew started the business in late eighties but I didn’t switch careers from healthcare to pets until 2000.  We’ve built AJ’s into a store that received national recognition as Nominee for Retailer of the Year at Summit 2011.

INFO: When did the Vernon conversation to ban the retailing of pets begin?

Lisa: I received a call from an industry colleague on Monday, 14 January 2013, letting me know that council would be considering a ban on the retailing of puppies, kittens and rabbits. The motion was set to come before council the next week.

INFO:  Who brought this conversation forward and what was their relationship to the community?

Lisa: The point person turned out to be a breeder/rescue person from outside the community with support from a number of other like-minded individuals. While only two people eventually showed up at the council meeting, the media attention made it look like a really big deal.

INFO: This is an important industry conversation for a community, how did the Vernon community line up on the issue?

Lisa: It was difficult to understand the metrics of the situation and we soon realized that we really didn’t know how stakeholders would line up.  In hindsight, we need to be far more engaged with the council and community.

INFO:  Going in what was your estimation of the impact on your business and the community?

Lisa: I felt like we had been kicked in the gut. All I could think about was that our customers, my employees and the community were all threatened. I couldn’t imagine that anything positive would come of it.

INFO:  So what did you do?

Lisa: Well, we have been a member of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada since 2005, and I remembered reading somewhere they were developing an information kit for communities involved in a ‘Ban’ conversation. So I called Ottawa and hollered for ‘Help’.

INFO:  How did council go about giving the matter due process?

Lisa: They invited comment from the community at a meeting to be held the following week.  Shortly after hearing about the situation, we were contacted by the  media, had visits from the public and a phone call from one of our municipal representatives to gather evidence for themselves.

INFO:  So I think we all have a picture. Let’s turn our attention to what intrigues us most, the use of the PIJAC Canada toolkit for this conversation. Louis can you tell us a bit about why this kit was developed?

Louis: First, let’s understand the environment in Canada. The conversation to ‘Ban’ the sale of animals first gained attention in Richmond, British Columbia in 2009. Ultimately that conversation was more of a lesson in ‘what not to do’ and it resulted in a ‘Ban’ being imposed. Since then, the ‘Ban’ conversation has spread to other communities where some retailers and services providers felt like they were under siege. We understood our members were in need of extra support and decided to create a toolkit that could empower these local tax paying businesses to be active in this conversation.

INFO:  That seems like a really good approach.  Louis - how does one use the PIJAC kit?

Louis: As we began to assemble this kit for our members, we had an opportunity observe ‘Ban’ conversations in Winnipeg and Calgary. We realized this conversation really needs to begin well before such a challenge comes into view. Our members need to be trusted by council and receive regular updates about pets and pet owners in the community. This was a defining moment for PIJAC Canada. It changed our focus from being an intervener to equipping local members to build relationships and understand the councils developing agenda. The kit encourages proactive relationship development using both local and national resources. The focus moves retailers and service providers from defending a right, to being transparent providers and offering themselves as part of the solution to a community concern.

INFO: Okay that’s positive but what’s in the kit?

Louis: The kit explains to our members how to prepare for challenging conversations; how to develop positive relationships; there are letter templates for writing council; templates for gathering and presenting statistics; national statistics from the Urban Animal Strategies surveys; a discussion of why pets end up in Shelters; information about the dilemma of irresponsible breeding facing every community; and, suggestions for how we can all work together to create a healthy community for pets and people.

INFO:  This sounds very comprehensive. Lisa, how did you use this resource?

Lisa: The first thing I did was to gather my staff and mobilize them so I could concentrate on being in the community. Next I used the templates in the kit to create 150 full color education kits. Then I visited everyone in the community from media to vets, from animal services to by-law enforcement, from competitors to pet owners and anyone else who would listen. These packages and my visits told the story of pets in our community.

INFO: This sounds fascinating. What did you achieve?

Lisa: My first achievement was personal – learning how to conduct an interview or presentation while keeping my emotions in check.  The second achievement was deeper relationships with the rest of the community and seeing our store as part of something really good for families, for our community and for our culture. Lastly, and kudos to the Council and citizens of Vernon for checking things out and discovering that a retail ban wouldn’t be effective against the real problem - irresponsible breeding and backyard breeders.

INFO:  Sounds like mission accomplished. How expensive was the exercise for you and the store?

Lisa: Well the kit is part of PIJAC Canada’s Member services so it was provided free of charge. You can’t beat that! My concentrated efforts took me away from the store for ten days and there were other costs but, we discovered something quite fascinating. The public came to the store to check things out for themselves and our brand was all over the community and media. At the end of the episode, we actually experienced a little bump in sales and a tremendous amount of good will from the community that still carries on.

INFO:  Lisa, is there any advice to give or anything you would do different?

 

Lisa: My advice is – start to build relationships right now before there is an issue. If a challenge comes along, keep your emotions under control and stay on the high road. Invest in your brand with ethical standards that will build your reputation in the community. Lastly, if you aren’t a member of PIJAC Canada join! Our PIJAC Canada membership costs us $285 annually and it has sure paid us dividends.

INFO:  Louis, do you have any final words?

Louis: Lisa is a passionate promoter of animals and positive pet experiences. I’m sure challenges will continue to arrive but she has shown that our retailers and service providers have a professional, transparent way to contribute to community conversations. We’re all in animal welfare. Eliminating irresponsible breeding activities is everyone’s business!

INFO: Thank you for giving us this time and for keeping industry leaders informed about what’s going on in these community conversations.  

Vernon Council Votes NO to Retail Ban

Photo found HERE

Vernon City Council listened to the arguments and determined a ban on the sale of certain pets in that community was not required. Other communities where this conversation is underway, now have additional precedent for a 'NO' decision. Precedent for a 'YES' decision was first established in Richmond, British Columbia after a hard fought battle between the 'Yes' and 'No' debate. 

InfoStream continues to follow this debate and to communicate the consequences of these decisions as they are illuminated.

Read the InfoTel Report

Read the Vernon Morning Star Report