Calgary council considering ban on stores selling pet dogs, cats and rabbits

Selling pet dogs, cats and rabbits at retail stores is set for review in Calgary, with a potential ban on the table.

Calgary council voted on Wednesday to direct city administration to work on a report reviewing these pet sales. Council wants the review to consider a ban, as well as other responses like a public education campaign, advocating to the province or updating municipal bylaws.

Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott raised the issue this week, citing animal shelters being at capacity due to high rates of pets being surrendered. The Calgary Humane Society, for instance, has reported being over-capacity for much of the last two years, experiencing large intakes, like recently bringing in 110 cats from one residence.

The housing crisis and economic pressures forcing people to surrender or release their pets are other factors Walcott cited for the review. When back in the wild, growing feral populations of these animals can be more at risk for disease.

"Because of the ways we've seen some devastating outcomes from the housing crisis, there's so many people who do not have the capacity to care for their pets right now," Walcott said, adding he's also concerned with the number of kennels and breeders working in unsafe conditions.

"It felt like a really appropriate time, at the holiday season, to have a conversation about what does it mean to be a responsible pet owner and a responsible pet purchaser?"

Council voted 12-2 in favour of administration preparing a report assessing pet retail sales by Q4 of 2025. If Calgary introduces a ban, it would follow in the footsteps of other Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Economic pressures leading to crowded shelters

The majority of animals that are brought into the Calgary Humane Society are surrendered by their owners, the organization's executive director Carrie Fritz said. She says this is largely due to the financial cost attached to caring for a pet, as well as a lack of pet-friendly housing in Calgary.

Fritz also connects the strain on animal shelter resources to irresponsible pet sourcing. She said she hopes council's work will lead to better transparency about where pets are coming from.

"It really is about just creating that awareness for people, building up that transparency so that people can ethically source their animal," Fritz said. "There's so much focus on that right now from groceries to clothing or household goods. Animals deserve that same consideration."

Fritz added that she wants pet purchasers to fully understand an animal's needs before housing them, and do their due diligence to understand the responsibility attached to being a pet owner.

Council also told administration that, while the review will focus on dogs, cats and rabbits, there's no reason it can't also assess the retail sale of other animals.

Walcott noted that few stores offer retail pet sales in the first place, and that the legislation is meant to fill in the gaps of what's often already being done voluntarily. 

But the ban wouldn't be met with a completely positive response, as Robert Church says the move could put his business at risk.

Church is the owner of The Top Dog Store, a retail kennel that sells puppies in Calgary. He argues that, while council should focus on alleviating the pressure shelters face, he would put the standard of animal care at his business up against any breeder or other pet sales option.

"What I do will have absolutely zero effect on the overcrowded animal shelters," Church said.

"We work with breeders that we've worked with for a long, long time … We hold them to a high standard because we need healthy, robust puppies that we can send home."

Church added he was surprised to see council considering the measure, after a review of Calgary's responsible pet ownership bylaw several years ago didn't limit retail pet sales.