Dogs, cats and rabbits can no longer be legally sold in Waukesha pet stores

WAUKESHA - The city has followed through on a plan to keep certain pets out of pet stores, a move aimed at curbing the market for breeders who ignore ethical standards.

The Waukesha Common Council voted 10-2 on Tuesday to join several other state municipalities in restricting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in retail pet stores.

The Humane Pet Store rules, which drew some local debate among aldermen, do not apply to nonprofit rescue organizations, such as the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County and the Elmbrook Humane Society. At present, no retailer sells those pets locally, though one was in the process of opening a new store with just that intent.

Ald. Cassie Rodriguez had previously spelled out her concerns about the problems associated with puppy mills — mass-market breeders who draw large profits from unscrupulous operations — including health and socialization issues, and inadequate regulations and enforcement of rules by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The ordinance was largely based on model language from the Humane Society of the United States and sponsored locally by Rodriguez and Ald. Jack Wells.  Appleton, Beloit, Fort Atkinson, Wauwatosa and Whitewater already have such ordinances.

Officials acknowledged the push to restrict retailers, under what has been commonly called a puppy mill ordinance, is somewhat awkward. The goal, proponents say, is to put pressure on the mills themselves to clean up their operations or go away completely. The retailers themselves are not directly involved in breeding.

But there is little else a municipality can do except discourage the market for pets coming from abusive breeders. 

City Attorney Brian Running said he expects the city's enforcement of the new rules will come from residents themselves, if any find pets for sale at stores.

A future Petland owner raised concerns about the law

In doing so, the council rejected a plea by a retailer, Adam Berger, who disclosed plans to open a new Petland store in the Silvernail Shopping Center, not far from the adjoining Silvernail Plaza Petland store that closed years ago.

Berger, who as a non-resident was not eligible to speak during public comment, was given his first opportunity to address the ordinance ahead of Tuesday's vote. He stressed that his business actively reviews breeder operations firsthand before using any as a supplier.

"I have 161 kennel tours on our YouTube channel," said Berger, noting his quarter-century track record in the pet retail industry. "As someone who wants to support only quality, ethical breeders, I took it upon myself to visit the breeders and film what they actually look like. ... We don't want to support breeders who don't pass the optics test."

Not all of the 350 breeders, including those not included on his YouTube channel, that he has visited have optimal operations, he acknowledged.

"There are plenty of breeders who don't meet our criteria, and these may be the sorts of breeders that have caused" local supporters of the ordinance to speak out, Berger said.

Berger said he would also accept a locally-imposed inspection fee to allow officials to examine a store's relevant records.

Ald. Mike Chrisien admitted the timing of the ordinance, given Berger's efforts since 2021 to bring a pet store to Waukesha, seemed unfortunate.

"My whole problem with this was the whole timeline," said Chrisien, who added he had heard from constituents favoring the ordinance. "If he would have started this a little bit sooner, he would have already been in."

Humane Society says pet stores have  moved away from selling live animals

But a representative of the Humane Society of the United States cast uncertainty on industry-oriented reviews, given the poor track record of so many breeders and the groundswell of public opposition that has grown from breeder operations.

"The canine certification sounds great, but that's just a last-minute move here to sway you all to delay the vote so more organization can be done" to fight the ordinance, said Megan Nicholson, HSUS Wisconsin state director.

Nicholson, another non-resident who was invited to speak before the vote, said Petland is one of the last chains to resist a trend among retailers to abandon the business model of selling puppies, as well as other live pets, in stores. She noted other retailers have found success without such animal sales.

She also took aim at what she called "predatory lending" practices of retail stores, which can charge exorbitant interest rates for costly pure-breed pet purchases, using the emotional in-person visits to the store's strategic advantage.

"If I was looking on the internet for a puppy, and I put that puppy in my cart, I can walk away from that (deal)," Nicholson said. "But a fuzzy little puppy that's licking my face, wagging his or her tail, and you want me to walk away from that? It's pretty hard."

She added: "This is not about banning a business. It's just about how the business is being operated."

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.