The ban on puppy sales in a Vancouver suburb will become one step closer to reality Tuesday night after the bylaw goes through its first three readings.

The city of Richmond, B.C., voted unanimously last week to become Canada's first municipality to ban the sale of puppies at all retail outlets, a move intended to curb the purchase of animals from puppy mills and backyard breeders, not to mention impulse buys.

Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt told ctvbc.ca a period of public consultation will follow tonight's readings, which she anticipates will pass without a problem.

"It's almost unheard of for it not to," she said. "This is the first step in the legal process to ban the sale of puppies."

A fourth reading, which makes the motion into official B.C. law, is expected within a month. Pet store owners will then have until April 2011 to sell or remove all their puppies.

Halsey-Brandt insists the decision does not mean a death knell for the Richmond pet stores and says the law will force potential dog owners to make informed decisions.

"They'll go to a breeder and ask questions about if the animal is right for them. It's more than just thinking ‘oh, it's cute,' and the whole puppy in the window appeal."

Taking away demand

The ban on retail sales is a solid step towards ending puppy mills because it takes away a large demand for mass-bred puppies, according to Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. SPCA.

"Any simple business model states that if you take away some of the demand, like these dogs, you'll have an impact on the production," she told ctvbc.ca.

"Do we think this will eliminate the puppy mill issue altogether? No. But it's a great step."

Moriarty is confident other Canadian municipalities will follow suit once the new bylaw is in place.

Opposition

Ernest Ang, who has sold puppies at his Richmond Pet Paradise location for more than 20 years, says stopping retail sales won't DO anything to end puppy mills.

"There are 900 puppies on sale online today and anyone in Richmond can go buy from these unregulated sellers. Are they from reputable breeders? We just don't know," Ang told ctvbc.ca.

Ang believes reputable breeders will be hurt by the decision because there are no provincial regulators distinguishing legitimate sellers from puppy mill operators.

But animal welfare agencies dispute this claim, saying no reputable breeder would ever sell to a pet store in the first place.

"Any breed organization wants to match their dogs with proper owners. They have as many questions to ask a potential owner as the owner would want to ask them," Moriarty said.

Ang said city council members made up their mind about the ban without proper public consultation. He feels his store has been unfairly targeted in a move that will do little to curb the problem.

"By stopping us they're not ending puppy mills, just hurting my business. I'm disappointed and I'll fight it."