NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) – The National City City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to move forward on drafting an ordinance that would place tighter restrictions on city pet stores.
The council directed staff to write an ordinance similar to ones passed in Carlsbad and Solana Beach.
At the beginning of this year, California enacted a new state law that prohibits pet stores from selling commercially-bred cats, dogs or rabbits.
There are still two pet stores operating in National City that sell animals, and that’s because the state law still allows pet stores to put animals up for adoption that they have received from animal rescues, shelters or humane societies.
However, that’s where the situation gets complicated.
Animal activists urged National City leaders to tighten those restrictions further. They want the pet stores to source the dogs from rescues and shelters within the county.
Inside one of the stores, National City Puppies, placards on the cages showed that the dogs came from rescues in Menifee, California, and Missouri.
The city staff will begin drafting the ordinance and present it to the council at an upcoming meeting for a vote.
