LETTER: Las Vegas City Council bans pet sales
Thanks to the Las Vegas City Council for combating puppy mills and the animal homelessness crisis (“Sales of dogs, cats, other popular pets, to be banned at Las Vegas shops,” Nov. 7 Review-Journal).
Most people who purchase animals from pet stores (and perhaps even some store owners) don’t realize that almost every one came from an abusive, high-volume breeding mill. PETA investigations of facilities that supply the pet trade have repeatedly uncovered filthy, overcrowded conditions, rampant illness and cruelty and neglect. One supplier crammed guinea pigs into grimy tubs left unsanitized for weeks and denied them care for respiratory infections, paralysis and other fatal conditions. At another, rabbits were confined to feces-encrusted wire cages alongside dead cage mates.
And every animal sold means that a homeless animal waiting in a shelter loses a chance at adoption. Our shelters are overflowing with healthy, adoptable animals of every species and breed. We can all save lives by choosing to adopt, not shop.
