Subject: Regulation of Licensed City of Windsor Pet Shops Report Reference:# 18201 dated Dec 19, 2019

Thank you Councilor Kusmierczyk and Francis for raising this item. Thank you also Craig Robertson and Katherine Donaldson for diving into this topic and reporting their findings and recommendations. 

The model of adopt not shop is becoming a welcomed standard in many larger municipalities such as Toronto, Ottawa and London with an expected trickle effect to take place across the province. This model has been discussed globally as we have been seeing in the past decades a growing population of unwanted animals and the need for more reputable recue and foster organizations.

Customers are becoming more educated on the unethical breeding practices that take place in our region and beyond, and are moving to the model of pet adoption rather than purchasing from a store. This helps bring down the demand for animals that are turned out of these breeding facilities/puppy mills. 

The Michigan Humane Society states, "Bottom Line: When pets are sold for profit and financial gain becomes the primary motivation, the animals' health becomes secondary." This has been backed up by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's position on small volume and commercial dog and cat breeding operations - they show substandard health, care and treatment to these animals.

In an informal survey I took at the beginning of 2019, I contacted 14 local dog and cat rescue organizations that take in unwanted pets. 8 of these were willing to discuss the approximate amount of animals that they successfully adopted out the prior year. This number was over 700 dogs and cats however, there were still a number in foster homes. This number does not include Windsor Humane Society or St. Claire College adoptions. We also currently have only one small animals rescue, who at the time were turning down rabbit intake as they were overwhelmed with the rabbits in their care. 

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Kijiji have also taken a stance to help control the demand for animals for profit as they recognized the unethical practices. It has been policy for some time that no animal can be sold on Facebook. Kijiji asks for an adoption fee and screening to ensure these animals are not falling prey to the wrong hands. 

By selecting Option A in this report- Dogs and Cats Offered by Adoption only, the pets that do go into pet shops can be sourced from local reputable animal rescues and shelters and will be in line with other Ontario municipalities. As CBC News reported in December 2018, "In a bid to crack down on puppy mills, Chatham-Kent council has set in motion a legal move that will outlaw the sales of animals in pet stores." Our next door neighbor has taken this into effect as well! 

We would also ask that the Licensing Committee and the City of Windsor Council members also take into consideration the addition of Rabbits into this bylaw update. Rabbits have been included in the most current by-law updates in Cambridge and Kingston. This is another animal grouping that is noted to have a high "unwanted" rate, and substandard breeding and care practices.

We thank you for your considerations on this topic. With Windsor known as a leader in various animal initiatives, we would like to keep up on the improvements and evolving municipal bylaw changes.

In summary, we recommend from the report# 18201 dated Dec 19, 2019 Option A - Dogs and Cats Offered by Adoption Only- with the addition of rabbits. 

Thank you, Jayme Lauzon Windsor, Ontario