Richmond, New Westminster, and Vancouver have all agreed to ban the retail sale of pets, and now the City of Surrey is being urged to do the same.
Earlier this week Paws for Hope Animal Foundation Executive Director Kathy Powelson spoke to Surrey City Council, calling on it to craft a bylaw banning the retail sale of puppies, kittens and rabbits.
Powelson says Surrey has a massive pet overpopulation problem.
“We expect that when the bylaw is implemented in Vancouver that its stores will want to open its doors somewhere else,” she says.
“So we’re hoping that Surrey will make a preemptive move to prohibit it from being in their city.”
Surrey Bylaw Services Manager Jas Rehal says they’re going to recommend the city adopts the bylaw that was presented.
“From a staff perspective we fully support that presentation. Council was supportive of it as well. So, we’re going to take the steps now to prepare the necessary reports, and bring them forward.”
Powelson says the city’s animal shelter is the busiest in B.C.
It currently runs a program that sends cats to retail shops for adoption.
She adds in the first six months of this year, the shelter received about 1,200 animals.
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