Cities Move to Ban Sale of Companion Animals at Petshops

It's hard to argue with this (not that I was inclined to try, anyway):

To see what really happens when a city bans pet sales, you have to go to Albuquerque, N.M. The Southwestern city banned sales of "companion animals," including cats and dogs, in 2006, and has seen a marked, positive effect, said Peggy Weigle, executive director of Animal Humane New Mexico.

Since the ban started, animal adoptions have increased 23 percent and euthanasia at city shelters has decreased by 35 percent.

Wow.

The story includes the requisite "other side," quoting Michael Maddox, vice president of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a lobbyist group in DC, arguing that "the vast majority of customers who bring home their canine companion from a pet store are supremely satisfied with the experience" (if that were true, shelters wouldn't be full of abandoned dogs), and Dana Derraugh, owner of Le Petit Puppy in Greenwich Village, who asserts that the $700+ pups she sells only come from reputable breeders and she oughtn't be put out of business by shady petshops.

I quite genuinely sympathize with her, but if her specialty is truly finding "high quality" puppies from reputable breeders, then she doesn't need a storefront; she needs a way to market her expertise as a pet matchmaker—a service for which I'm certain people would be willing to pay (and essentially already are paying, given she's running a for-profit business).

[Via Margaret.]