San Francisco bans non-rescue puppies, kittens

San Francisco pet stores will soon be prohibited from selling non-rescued cats and dogs.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that will only allow pet stores in The City to sell dogs and cats from animal rescue organizations and will prohibit stores from selling puppies and kittens under eight weeks old.

Supervisor Katy Tang, the sponsor of the legislation, said on Tuesday’s board meeting:

“We really do believe that it’ll set a great message not just in San Francisco, but across California, nationwide and hopefully worldwide.”

While there are no known pet stores that sell non-rescued dogs and cats, the legislation is a preventative measure for future pet stores, according to Tang’s office.

San Francisco’s SPCA and Animal Care and Control along with the Humane Society of the United States, were in support of Tang’s legislation.

The Human Society estimates that there are 10,000 large-scaled breeding facilities in the U.S., producing 2.4 million puppies year and providing inadequate care for the animals.

Both the SPCA and Animal Care and Control held an event on Tuesday inside Tang’s office that included a number of adoptable dogs from the SPCA and from Animal Care and Control.

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Virginia Donohue, executive director of the The City’s Animal Care and Control, said they take about 10,000 animals annually and have 20 dogs in the shelter ready for someone to adopt them.

For the month of February, Animal Care and Control will wave adoption fees for those seeking to adopt a pit bull or pit bull mix.

Check out www.sfanimalcare.org and www.sfspca.org to learn more on you can adopt an animal.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.