The sale of puppies and kittens in Oshawa pet stores could soon be against the law.

Animal welfare advocates are behind a bylaw amendment that would ban their sale in pet stores, to curb “overpopulation.”

“A lot of the purchases that come from pet stores are impulse purchases,” said Kelli Polsinelli, an authorized wildlife rehabilitator who proposed the ban. “We have a lot of stray cats and dogs in our community. We have more animals than we have homes to put animals in.”

The amendment would prohibit pet stores from selling dogs and cats unless they come from a registered non-profit rescue or shelter. It’s designed to cut off a supposed flow of puppies from puppy mills and rural breeders.

Similar pet bans exist in Toronto, Kingston, Pickering, Vaughan, Mississauga and Vancouver.

Polsinelli proposed the idea in February to the city’s community services committee. It was upheld last week with support from city staff and will be tabled at a corporate services committee in the coming summer months. If it passes there, it becomes bylaw.

But the town’s last remaining pet store to sell puppies and kittens has a chance to fight back, a situation the owner says is like “David and Goliath.”

“We take care of our animals,” said Wesley Mauch, 40, owner of Mauch’s Pet Superstore. “We have a vet that comes into the store … who makes us accountable. We can’t do anything wrong because he’s on us.

“The bylaw isn’t needed.”

Mauch sells about 200 puppies and 400 kittens per year, which he sources from 500 to 600 breeders across the province. He said the real problem lies in online sales of puppies and kittens on websites like Kijiji and Craigslist.

“We’re a pet store. The OSPCA can come in, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and make sure everything is up to code. The guy in his backyard doesn’t have anything to stand by,” he said.

He has doubts about the overpopulation claims: “I haven’t seen too many stray dogs walking around town,” Mauch said.

The operations director of the Human Society of Durham Region said overpopulation is “definitely an issue” in Oshawa and across the GTA.

“There are a number of feral cat colonies in Oshawa,” said Phil Nicholas. “We’ve brought in just under 500 animals this year.”

Using Toronto as a gauge, Nicholas said the bylaw could lower that number.

“I work out of Toronto as well, and since the bylaw has been in effect we’ve started to see decreasing intake numbers, primarily cats,” he said.

Making pet stores emulate PetsMart — a chain that connects owners with rescue organizations — is Polsinelli’s ideal model.

“It’s been a fantastic relationship,” she said. “They’ve saved thousands and thousands of lives, it’s a great example.”

The real solution would be to approach Queen’s Park with provincial laws that outline clear parameters on cat and dog breeding and sales, Polsinelli said. However, she’s starting small.

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“This is step one. You have to go further and implement more bylaws in more municipalities. And hopefully it gets addressed provincially … there is a need of it,” she said.

Mauch said he plans to fight the bylaw proposal, but he doesn’t have much hope for his little business.

“I think we’re going to close down. I think they got us,” he said. “I’ve got some great staff. I don’t what any of us are going to do.”

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