100 signatures reached
To: Mayor Indya Kincannon
Stop Puppy Mill Sales in Knoxville
Please protect pets, consumers, and taxpayers by enacting a retail pet sales ordinance for Knoxville. We respectfully urge Mayor Kincannon to support an ordinance to restrict the retail sale of inhumanely bred dogs and cats, many of whom end up in our overcrowded, taxpayer-subsidized shelters.
Why is this important?
More than 400 other cities, counties and states have already passed laws to ban the retail sale of pets sourced from commercial breeding facilities. It's time for our community to do the same.
Puppy and kitten mills are in business to supply pet stores. The pets in these facilities often spend their entire lives in dirty, crowded cages for the sole purpose of producing as many animals as possible for the retail pet trade. Pet stores that obtain animals from these facilities are not an asset to our city.
These facilities also produce puppies that are often sick, causing unsuspecting consumers to have to care for a new pet in need of expensive veterinary treatment. Milled puppies can also spread campylobacter, a dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria that is contagious to humans. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traced a multi-state outbreak of Campylobacter to pet store puppies. This is a public health risk in a time where public health should be a top priority.
A retail pet sales ban will not prevent pet stores from doing business, but it will reduce the burden on our shelters and rescue groups by increasing pet adoptions. It will also benefit our local hobby breeders by allowing them to continue providing responsibly bred animals directly to those who cannot find what they are looking for through adoption.
Please consider supporting a humane pet store ordinance for our community.