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.
No comments:
Post a Comment