Calgary could consider banning retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits

A dog and cat are seen in this undated image. (Krista Mangusone/Unsplash)

A Calgary committee will consider asking city officials to ban all sales of dogs, cats and rabbits in retail stores.

A notice of motion from Coun. Courtney Walcott is set to go before Thursday's Executive Committee to launch a review of the city's bylaws related to animals being sold by pet stores.

The aim of the motion is to urge Calgarians to instead adopt or foster animals from shelters and rescue organizations as the city sees a high number of animals being surrendered.

Other major cities, such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, have rules banning the sale of certain animals, the motion notes.

The item also asks councillors to advocate to the Alberta government to better define rules for the conditions in which animals can be housed and sold from.

Calgary Humane Society is in full support of this motion. Banning the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits is an important step in practicing city-wide responsible pet sourcing," reads a statement from the humane society.

"If the motion is successful, the impact of this ban will immediately be felt by animal welfare groups who continue to run at full capacity with long waitlists for surrender service."

The effort comes more than two years after an online petition garnered more than 22,000 signatures calling on Calgary to stop the sale of puppies in retail stores.

If passed by council, the motion asks city administration to review the possible ban and come back to councillors with a report by the end of 2025.