San Francisco’s Commission of Animal Control & Welfare is scheduled for Aug. 12, 2010, to continue its discussion and possibly vote on whether the city should ban pet sales. The panel had opted last month to table the vote after the issue sparked several hours of debate.

The ban seeks to prohibit the sale of dogs, cats, small animals and birds in pet stores. It is intended to stop the sale of dogs, cats and other animals that come from "puppy mills" and other breeding mills, as well as to decrease euthanasia rates of small animals in the city’s shelters, according to the commission’s agenda.

If the commission votes in favor of the ban, the proposal would then go to the board of supervisors for approval.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) has called such a ban discriminatory and claimed it would do nothing to benefit animals or the pet owning public. The Washington, D.C.-based organization also commented that such a ban would set a precedent for other states and cities to follow. <HOME>