Christie Lagally

This morning I got an email from a Richmond resident regarding the process by which council is considering the proposal to Ban the Sale of Dogs in Storefronts.  This is an excellent query, so here’s a little history and some information on current events.

Richmond’s petition to stop the sale of animals in pet stores was started during a RAPS board meeting, and was based on the need to stop the steady stream of dogs, cats, rabbits, guineas pigs and birds that were purchased at local pet stores and quickly surrendered to the Richmond Animal Shelter.  A new balance between incoming animals and re-homed animals had to be established.  Hence, the need to stop retail sales of animals.  The petition has been circulated by volunteers and by the BC SPCA.

In 2009, Councilmen Ken Johnston brought forth a proposal to Richmond’s council to Ban the Sale of Dogs in Storefronts.    That proposal was considered during the March 2 General Purposes Committee meeting.  See minutes here.

During that meeting, committee members asked staff to research items further, but as of Sept. 1, this issue has not been put on the General Purpose Committee agenda. We are encouraging council to put this issue on the Oct. 4th General Purposes Committee agenda.