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To: City Council

Stop Puppy Mill Sales in Our Community

Please protect pets, consumers, and taxpayers by enacting a retail pet sales ordinance for Smyrna, GA. We respectfully urge the city council 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 440 other cities, counties and states have already passed laws to stop 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 community.

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. In the past several years, 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 humane pet sales ordinance 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 ethical hobby breeders by allowing them to provide responsibly bred pets directly to those who cannot find what they are looking for through adoption.

Please consider protecting pets and consumers by passing a humane pet sales ordinance for our community.

Smyrna, GA, USA

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Updates

2023-04-11 13:34:36 -0500

100 signatures reached

2023-02-09 08:17:06 -0600

50 signatures reached

2022-12-18 02:34:25 -0600

25 signatures reached

2022-11-10 12:03:20 -0600

10 signatures reached