Puppygram pet sales on Woodward Avenue in Berkley sparked a number of protests when it opened in February. The city recently passed a ban against retail pet stores, but it is not retroactive. (Tribune file photo)
Berkley Mayor Bridget Dean says she and fellow city council members support pending state legislation that would ban retail sales of dogs, cats and rabbits.
“We wholeheartedly support it,” Dean said of state House Bill 4838, which is now pending before the Michigan House of Government Operations Committee headed by State Rep. Tullio Liberati (D-Allen Park).
“We are asking Berkley residents and residents across the state to support this bill,” Dean said, “and to reach out to the (House) committee members and let them know they support it.”
Nearly two weeks ago, Berkley City Council members unanimously approved a new ordinance prohibiting retail pet stores in the city from selling dogs, cats and rabbits.
The city vote came months after people protested against a new Puppygram retail store that opened at 28297 Woodward Ave. in February.
At the time, pet retail opponents complained that most stores in the industry buy their animals from puppy mills, leading to abuse of dog parents forced to breed excessively under inhumane and unsanitary conditions.
Many residents also called for a ban on retail sales of animals in the city and worked with Molly Tamulevich, the Michigan Director for the Humane Society of the United States, who joined in the protests against Puppygram.
Tamulevich told the Tribune at the time that many residents were upset about Puppygram “because they don’t want their city to host a business that is keeping the puppy-mill-to-pet store pipeline open.”
The city ban passed Sept. 18, however, did not close Puppygram’s doors.
Puppygram moved in before city officials in September enacted the ban, which is not retroactive.
Berkley officials are now set to begin work on a retail pet store reporting standards measure. The measure would include such things as requiring retail pet stores to have health certificates for each animal, and a record of sale meeting USDA standards.
“We see it as a step forward toward curtailing the retail sales of animals,” Dean said. “If the state sees fit to pass House Bill 4838, that will determine if a retail pet store can operate or if they have to shut down.”
State lawmakers in 2018 sought to pass a measure preventing communities from enacting pet sale bans, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, who said there should be a standard ban.
In a statement after Berkley’s retail pet ban ordinance, Dean said the measure allows existing pet stores already operating to continue to do so for the duration of their current lease and optional lease extensions.
After hearing from residents and retail pet sale opponents, Berkley officials learned where pet businesses received animals from and that most animals are sourced from large-scale inhumane commercial breeding facilities where the animals’ health and welfare are disregarded to maximize profits, Dean said.
Dean said Friday she has spoken with state representatives on the committee that will help decide the fate of House Bill 4838 to phase out the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits.
The bill was introduced by State Rep. Penelope Tsernnoglou (D-East Lansing) in June.
Tsernnoglou said in a statement introducing the bill that Michigan is one of the top 10 states for pet store consumer complaints to the Humane Society of the U.S.
The bill mirrors local pet store ordinances in cities such as Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, New Baltimore, Woodhaven, St. Clair Shores and a few other communities.
“Puppygram would be gone from the city if the state says that is not what the law” allows, Dean said.
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