SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
San Francisco considers ban on sale of animals (including goldfish) at pet stores
Jun 29, 2011, 11:20 AM | Updated: 12:43 pm
A proposal from the Animal Control and Welfare Commission in San Francisco would have the city ban the selling of animals, all the way down to pet store goldfish.
Rebecca Katz, Director of Animal Care and Control in San Francisco, says there are several resulting problems when people purchase an animal on impulse.
“What we do face is people coming in who’ve on an impulse, or not knowing the time and involvement of these smaller animals, have purchased them at pet stores and now are relinquishing them to the city shelter,” says Katz. “Aside from the animal welfare perspective, there’s also the burden on the tax payers. We are a city run shelter, and they’re paying for all these animals that come to us. We provide care for, we attempt to get adopted out, but there’s a cost to it.”
Katz tells 97.3 KIRO FM’s Dori Monson Show that while the city shelter often has a supply of small animals like hamsters, guinea pigs, and chinchillas, people looking for fish will likely be out of luck.
“We don’t see a lot of fish.”
Listen: Interview with Rebecca Katz
Katz says she thinks the proposal was really just trying to draw attention to the issue.
“I think it was more about the idea that it’s not like going to the grocery store and buying fruit and vegetables, or whatever it is; these are living, sentient beings and so there needs to be an appreciation for that.”
She says the proposal from the Animal Control and Welfare Commission is just a recommendation.
“There hasn’t been any legislation drafted by the board of supervisors or put forward. The animal control and welfare commission down here is an advisory body to the board. They make recommendations,” says Katz. “I think they sort of threw everything out there and will leave it to the board of supervisors to determine what seems reasonable and what seems too far.”
Katz says she’s not sure the goldfish will be included in future versions of the proposal.
“I’m not sure that that will even be part of a final proposal that goes through. I think their goal was to really make the public recognize these are living beings versus commodities.”
By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor
