If Pets Are Criminal, Only Criminals Will Have Pets

San Francisco’s Commission of Animal Control and Welfare has proposed a ban on the sale of any pets with the exception of fish. The new ordinance would make it unlawful to sell dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, rats, and other pets.

Chairwoman Sally Stephens insisted that pets are often “impulse buy[s] . . . end up at the shelter and often are euthanized.”

Notably, the law was first proposed to combat puppy mills but animal control officers reported that the real problem was . . . hamsters. Many people buy hamsters without understanding that they bite and scratch. They end up in shelters. The ordinance was therefore expanded to include small animals.

If passed, citizens would have to go outside the jurisdiction to buy pets.

Source: CBS.