HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 10-1307ORDINANCE NO. 10-1307
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH ADDING NEW
3 CHAPTER 6.16 TO TITLE 6 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING
THE RETAIL SALE OF DOGS AND CATS.
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5 11 The City Council of the City of Hermosa Beach hereby ordains as follows:
6 11 SECTION 1. Chapter 6.16 is hereby added to Title 6 of the Hermosa Beach Municipal
7 Code to read as follows:
8 Chapter 6.16
9 RETAIL SALE OF DOGS AND CATS
10 11 Sections:
11 6.16.010 Findings.
12 6.16.020 Retail Sale of Dogs and Cats.
13 6.16.010 Findings.
14 11 a. Existing state and federal laws regulate dog and cat breeders, as well as pet stores that sell
15 dogs and cats. These include the Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act (California Health &
16 Safety Code section 122125 et seq.); the Polanco-Lockyer Pet Breeder Warranty Act (California
17 Health & Safety Code section 122045 et seq.); the Pet Store Animal Care Act (California Health &
18 Safety Code section 122350 et seq.); and the Animal Welfare Act ("AWA") (7 U.S.C. § 2131 et
19 Seq.).
20 b. The Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act requires pet dealers (i.e. retail sellers of more
21 than fifty (50) dogs or cats in the previous year; not including animal shelters and humane
22 societies) to have a permit, maintain certain health and safety standards for their animals, sell only
23 healthy animals, and provide written spay -neuter, health, animal history and other information and
24 disclosures to pet buyers. If after fifteen (15) days from purchase a dog or cat becomes ill due to an
25 illness that existed at the time of sale, or if within one (1) year after purchase a dog or cat has a
227 II congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the dog or cat, an owner is
offered a refund, another puppy or kitten, or reimbursement of veterinary bills up to one hundred
28 11 and fifty percent (150%) of the purchase price of the puppy or kitten.
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c. The Pet Store Animal Care Act requires every pet store that sells live companion animals
2 and fish to formulate a documented program consisting of routine care, preventative care,
3 emergency care, disease control and prevention, veterinary treatment, and euthanasia.
4 d. The Polanco-Lockyer Pet Breeder Warranty Act offers protection similar to that of the
5 Lockyer-Polanco-Farr Pet Protection Act, except that it applies only to dog breeders who sold or
6 gave away either three litters or 20 dogs in the previous year.
7 e. The Animal Welfare Act requires, among other things, the licensing of certain breeders of
s dogs and cats. These breeders are required to maintain minimum health, safety and welfare
9 standards for animals in their care. The AWA is enforced by the United States Department of
to Agriculture ("USDA").
i i f. According to The Humane Society of the United States, American consumers purchase
12 dogs and cats from pet stores that the consumers believe to be healthy and genetically sound, but
13 in reality, the animals often face an array of health problems including communicable diseases or
14 genetic disorders that present immediately after sale or that do not surface until several years later,
15 all of which lead to costly veterinary bills and distress to consumers.
16 g. A review of state and USDA inspection reports from more than 100 breeders who sold
17 animals to the nation's largest retail pet store chain revealed that more than 60 percent of the
is inspections found serious violations of basic animal care standards, including sick or dead animals
19 in their cages, lack of proper veterinary care, inadequate shelter from weather conditions, and
20 dirty, unkempt cages that were too small.
21 h. A 2005 undercover investigation of California pet stores revealed that nearly half of the pet
22 shops visited displayed animals that showed visible signs of illness, injury, or neglect, and nearly
23 half of the stores also sold animals showing clear symptoms of psychological distress.
24 II i. According to The Humane Society of the United States, hundreds of thousands of dogs and
25 cats in the United States have been housed and bred at substandard breeding facilities known as
26 11 "puppy mills" or "kitten factories," that mass-produce animals for sale to the public; and many of
27 11 these animals are sold at retail in pet stores. Because of the lack of proper animal husbandry
28 11 practices at these facilities, animals bom and raised there are more likely to have genetic disorders
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and lack adequate socialization, while breeding animals utilized there are subject to inhumane
2 housing conditions and are indiscriminately disposed of when they reach the end of their profitable
3 breeding cycle.
a j. According to USDA inspection reports, some additional documented problems found at
5 puppy mills include — (a) sanitation problems leading to infectious disease; (b) large numbers of
6 animals overcrowded in cages; (c) lack of proper veterinary care for severe illnesses and injuries;
7 (d) lack of protection from harsh weather conditions; and, (e) lack of adequate food and water.
s k. While "puppy mill' puppies and "kitten factory" kittens were being sold in pet stores
9 across the Los Angeles area during the past year, more than 35,000 dogs and 67,000 cats were
10 euthanized in Los Angeles city and county shelters.
i 1 1. The homeless pet problem notwithstanding, there are many reputable dog and cat breeders
12 who refuse to sell through pet stores and who work carefully to screen families and ensure good,
13 lifelong matches.
14 m. Responsible dog and cat breeders do not sell their animals to pet stores. The United Kennel
15 Club (UKC), the second oldest all -breed registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States
16 and the second largest in the world, asks all of its member breeders to agree to a Code of Ethics
17 which includes a pledge not to sell their puppies to pet stores. Similar pledges are included in
is Codes of Ethics for many breed clubs for individual breeds.
19 n. Within the past year, there has been significant community activity across the Los Angeles
20 metropolitan area to convince local pet store operators to convert from puppy sales to a humane
21 business model offering adoptable homeless dogs and cats to their customers.
22 o. Across the country, thousands of independent pet stores as well as large chains operate
23 profitably with a business model focused on the sale of pet services and supplies and not on the
24 sale of dogs and cats. Many of these stores collaborate with local animal sheltering and rescue
25 organizations to offer space and support for showcasing adoptable homeless pets on their
26 premises.
27 p. While the City Council recognizes that not all dogs and cats retailed in pet stores are
28 products of inhumane breeding conditions and would not classify every commercial breeder
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selling dogs or cats to pet stores as a "puppy mill" or "kitten factory," it is the City Council's belief
z that puppy mills and kitten factories continue to exist in part because of public demand and the
3 sale of dogs and cats in pet stores.
4 q. The City Council finds that the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores that operate or
5 choose in the future to operate in the City of Hermosa Beach must be consistent with the City's
6 goal to be a community that cares about animal welfare.
7 r. The City Council believes that eliminating the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores in
g the City will promote community awareness of animal welfare and, in turn, will foster a more
9 humane environment in the City.
to s. The City Council believes that elimination of the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores in
t 1 the City will also encourage pet consumers to adopt dogs and cats from shelters, thereby saving
12 animals' lives and reducing the cost to the public of sheltering animals.
13 6.16.020 Retail Sale of Dogs and Cats Prohibited.
14 a. Definitions. For purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
15 1. "Animal shelter" means a municipal or related public animal shelter or duly
16 incorporated nonprofit organization devoted to the rescue, care and adoption of stray, abandoned
17 or surrendered animals, and which does not breed animals.
18 2. "Cat" means an animal of the Felidae family of the order Camivora.
19 3. "Dog" means an animal of the Canidae family of the order Camivora.
20 4. "Existing pet store" means any pet store or pet store operator that displayed, sold,
21 delivered, offered for sale, offered for adoption, bartered, auctioned, gave away, or otherwise
22 transferred cats or dogs in the City of Hermosa Beach on the effective date of this Chapter, and
23 complied with all applicable provisions of the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code.
24 5. "Pet store" means a retail establishment open to the public and engaging in the
25 business of offering for sale and/or selling animals at retail.
26 5. "Pet store operator" means a person who owns or operates a pet store, or both.
27 6. "Retail sale" includes display, offer for sale, offer for adoption, barter, auction,
28 give away, or other transfer any cat or dog.
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b. Prohibition. No pet store shall display, sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give
2 away, or otherwise transfer or dispose of dogs or cats in the City of Hermosa Beach.
3 c. Exemptions. This Chapter does not apply to:
4 1. a person or establishment that sells, delivers, offers for sale, barters, auctions, gives
5 away, or otherwise transfers or disposes of only animals that were bred and reared on the premises
6 of the person or establishment;
7 2. a publicly operated animal control facility or animal shelter;
s 3. a private, charitable, nonprofit humane society or animal rescue organization; or
9 4. a publicly operated animal control agency, nonprofit humane society, or nonprofit
to animal rescue organization that operates out of or in connection with a pet store.
t t d. Adoption of Shelter and Rescue Animals. Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a pet store
12 or its owner, operator or employees from providing space and appropriate care for animals owned
13 by a publicly operated animal control agency, nonprofit humane society, or nonprofit animal
14 rescue agency and maintained at the pet store for the purpose of adopting those animals to the
tS public.
16 SECTION 2. Section 1.10.040 of the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended
t7 to include the following in numerical order with the existing references therein, and to renumber
18 each of the references that follow accordingly:
19 "3. Chapter 6.16, Retail Sale of Dogs and Cats;"
20 SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall become effective and be in full force and effect from
21 and after thirty (30) days of its final passage and adoption.
22 SECTION 4. Five days prior to the adoption and prior to the expiration of fifteen (15)
23 days after the date of its adoption, the City Clerk shall cause a summary of this ordinance to be
24 published in the Easy Reader, a weekly newspaper of general circulation published and circulated,
25 in the City of Hermosa Beach in the manner provided by law.
26 SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance,
27 shall enter the same in the book of original Ordinances of said city, and shall make minutes of the
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passage and adoption thereof in the records of the proceedings of the City Council at which the
same is passed and adopted.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 13th of April 2010 by the following vote
AYES:
Bobko, Duclos, Fishman, Tucker, Mayor DiVirgilio
NOES:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
PRESIDENT of the City Council and MAYOR of the City of Hermosa Beach, California
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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10-1307
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH
I, Elaine Doerfling, City Clerk of the City of Hermosa Beach, California, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 10-1307 was duly and regularly passed,
approved and adopted by the City Council of the City of Hermosa Beach at a regular
meeting held at the regular meeting place thereof on the 13th of April 2010, and a
summary of said ordinance was published in the Easy Reader newspaper on April 8 and
April 29, 2010.
The vote was as follows:
AYES: Bobko, Duclos, Fishman, Tucker, Mayor DiVirgilio
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
DATED: April 27, 2010
City perk