Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia has become the first city in Canada to ban the sale of puppies by pet stores. The ban goes into effect next April.
Shelter operators hoped the ban will shut down an outlet for sales by puppy mills and backyard breeders. It is estimated more than 90% of puppies sold in pet stores come from such puppy mills and backyard breeders. The city shelter reports that fully 50% of the dogs that end up there are purebred.