CAMBRIDGE - In an unusual turn of events, a handful of politicians said they would support a full ban on pet shops in Cambridge after two hours of debate on the issue late Tuesday night.

Last year council voted against a ban proposed by local animal advocates.

They opted to pursue regulations through a bylaw instead. The proposed bylaw was up for discussion on Tuesday, but the conversation quickly turned to a full ban on pet stores.

"I don't support any of this actually, I support a full out ban," Coun. Jan Liggett said.

The vote was deferred to next week because other council members want to hear from the owner of the city's only pet shop before making hasty decisions.

"Their side I would like to hear . It doesn't mean they are right," Mayor Doug Craig said at the marathon planning and development committee meeting that ran just past midnight.

Debbie Corey owns Number 1 Pet Centre in the Cambridge Centre mall. She did not attend Tuesday's meeting but sent council a letter in lieu of her presence.

On Wednesday, Corey told The Record in an email she plans to attend next week's meeting.

"Council needs to grandfather us in and allow us to continue to run a good, respected business," she said in the email.

She said a ban would force her to shut down her shop in Cambridge Centre mall.

Last year, animal advocates asked council for a ban on the sale of animals from commercial kennels. On Tuesday, they still pushed for a full ban on pet shops even though a proposed bylaw was on the table.

Coun. Frank Monteiro started off unconvinced.

He flipped through Kijiji ads on his iPad and said he found almost 200 ads for dogs and puppies in Waterloo Region alone.

"How we can stop them? We have one store. This is not going to make it better."

Monteiro later changed his tune.

"I'm in support of banning," he said to a cheering crowd of advocates.

Coun. Mike Mann also said he would support a ban.

Cambridge doesn't have any regulations for pet stores. It introduced a pet shop bylaw in 1998 but got rid of it in 2003.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Animal advocates told council that ethical kennels do not sell puppies and kittens to pet shops and some of the animals in pet shop windows may come from unethical sources.

Corey denied the accusations made by advocates.

"I have always sourced out the best puppies from local homes, and licensed kennels that I know will make great family pets," she said.

"This group trying to get pet shops to stop selling puppies needs to focus on regulating puppy mills at the provincial level."

Coun. Nicholas Ermeta said he was "open to a ban" but wanted to hear Corey speak. Some councillors contemplated out loud why she wasn't at the meeting.

Coun. Pam Wolf said Corey "felt too intimidated to come here."

"I'm finding lately at council that it's very difficult for anyone to speak up when they have a different opinion," she said.

Waterloo, Ottawa, Mississauga and Toronto are a few municipalities that have banned the sale of animals from commercial kennels.

Pet shops in these cities are now required to offer only shelter and rescue animals.

Council expects to make a decision on May 17.

- D'Amato: Protest against pet shop has chosen the wrong target