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Residents urge Westminster to ban retail sale of puppies, council's post-meeting ordinance discussion postponed
Summary
Dozens of speakers urged Westminster to pass an ordinance banning retail sales of dogs, cats and rabbits sourced from commercial breeding operations. The council had scheduled a post-meeting discussion to direct staff to draft such an ordinance but postponed the presentation to a future meeting.
More than a dozen speakers urged the Westminster City Council Monday to draft an ordinance to prohibit the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits that originate from large-scale commercial breeding operations, commonly described in testimony as 'puppy mills.' The proposal has been discussed at the end of the council agenda as a possible draft ordinance.
Speakers described personal experiences with sick animals purchased from retail pet stores and asked the city to adopt what several called "Sammy's Law" to cut the pipeline between out-of-state commercial breeders and local retail stores. Testimony cited other Colorado municipalities that have adopted similar ordinances and referenced enforcement complaints and a reported parvo/distemper outbreak at a Westminster-area pet store that later closed.
Kara Thorson told the council a woman bought a sick puppy that died after nine days and said, 'This ordinance is about prevention' to keep future pets from suffering.
Brian Sugioka and Canada Sorenson, and other commenters described the breeding conditions the speakers attributed to out-of-state, high-volume breeding operations and stressed the ordinance would not affect reputable local hobby or responsible breeders who sell directly to buyers.
Cordelia Stone and others presented data points, complaint records, and news coverage they said document illness and outbreaks tied to retail-sold animals. Several speakers said 23 Colorado cities already have ordinances and urged Westminster to act.
Post-meeting presentation postponed
The council had scheduled a post-meeting presentation and a council discussion about directing staff to draft a retail-animal ordinance. According to the city manager, that discussion was on the post-meeting agenda under the item described as "directing staff to draft an ordinance to ban the sale of live animals in pet shops in the city of Westminster." During the post-meeting period the city announced the presentation would be moved to the next meeting because Mayor Pro Tem was not feeling well and staff and council wanted the full body present.
No ordinance language was introduced or voted on at the meeting. Staff told the council they are coordinating the timing of the ordinance discussion and would return with a presentation at a future meeting. Council members who spoke during public comments expressed appreciation for the testimony and noted that several other municipalities had enacted retail-sale restrictions.
