TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Noel Pfeffer, City Attorney
DATE: March 15, 2016
Title
ORDINANCE NO. 07-16 RESTRICTING THE RETAIL SALES OF CATS AND DOGS (SECOND READING)
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to Adopt Ordinance No. 07-16, prohibiting the retail sale of cats and dogs in the City with the exception of sales or transfers by animal shelters, animal rescue organizations, including shelters and rescue organizations that operate out of, or in connection with, pet stores.
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Background:
Ordinance No. 07-16 makes it unlawful for a pet store or other retailer to display, sell, trade, deliver, barter, lease, rent, auction, give away, transfer, offer for sale, or otherwise dispose of dogs or cats in the City of Delray Beach, except for animal shelters and animal rescue organizations, as such terms are defined in the ordinance, either operating on their own or out of or in connection with a pet store. Any pet store selling cats and dogs under this exemption must post and provide the buyer with a Certificate of Source that provides a description of the dog or cat and certifies that it received the dog or cat from an animal shelter or rescue operation.
This ordinance will become effective on its passage at second reading. However, pet stores that have a local business tax receipt and presently sell cats and dogs will have six months to amortize their inventory and come into compliance. Each violation of the ordinance will result in a $400 fine.
Similar ordinances have been passed in several local municipalities including Deerfield Beach, Sunrise, Lauderhill, North Miami, Palm Beach, Tamarac, Homestead, Jupiter, Hypoluxo, Cutler Bay, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour Village, Juno Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Pompano, North Miami Beach, Miami Beach, North Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Aventura, Surfside, Greenacres, Coconut Creek, Coral Gables, and Lake Worth.
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