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Council Backs Off On Pet Store Regulations
Shops Will Still Be Allowed To Sell Cats, Dogs And Other Pets
By Catherine Galioto
A law that would have prohibited future pet shops from selling cats and dogs has failed to pass muster with the Brick Township Council.
The township council was considering an ordinance that would bar new pet shops from selling cats and dogs in the township.
However, when the time came during last week's agenda to put the matter to vote, it didn't even have enough support to call for a vote.
Each matter of business must have two council members asking the matter be put to vote. Then, the council discusses and votes on the matter.
That is where the proposed pet shop ordinance failed. The measure didn't have the two council members it needed to be discussed and voted on.
The failure to pass muster may have been prompted by township business owners. A new pet shop owner used the meeting's public portion to urge the council not to bar future pet shops from selling cats and dogs. The owner read from university and private studies that showed pet shops are not, contrary to the image put forth by some, hastily selling poorly kept animals to customers. Instead, the top reasons animals are abandoned or sent to shelters is because new owners realized they didn't have the time commitment.
The ordinance got on the agenda at the urging of the Jersey Shore Animal Center, whose representatives spoke at several council meetings decrying so-called "puppy mills."
The reasons for barring cat and dog sales at pet shops, Jersey Shore Animal Center members said, are many. At their work at the shelter, they claimed they have pet owners come in, seeking help after purchasing animals from pet shops. Members talked about puppy mills - pet shops with poor, overcrowded conditions selling dozens of animals - and said they have been denounced by the Humane Society of the United States. They cited arrests made for animal cruelty at so-called puppy mills.
But the new pet shop owner, Loren Kisslag, said his industry is one of the most regulated industries around. By law, such shops must insure the health and safety of not only the animals, but also their customers.
Kisslag was the only participant in the public hearing for the pet shop ordinance. No one else came to speak on the matter during last week's township council meeting.
Under the proposed ordinance, pet shops would only be allowed to sell fish and pet supplies. Dogs and cats could be sold by breeders, and local animal shelters and rescue operations could still give and take-in cats and dogs.
At the moment, licenses issued for pet permit the shop to sell pet supplies for all types of animals, including cats and dogs. The license also permits shops to sell animals other than cats and dogs, such as pet fish, rabbits or lizards.
If the ordinance had passed, township attorney Jean Cipriani said all existing pet shops within the township would still have been allowed to sell cats and dogs. It also wouldn't prevent a shop from changing hands, as long as it remained in the same location.
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