Final Vote on Pet Sale Ordinance Monday

The Manasquan Borough Council at is expected to adopt an ordinance at its Monday meeting making illegal the retail sale of cats and dogs. 

The governing body last month introduced a proposed ordinance that would have banned the sale of dogs and cats in Manasquan pet shops, but defeated it the following meeting after Borough Council members decided certain language in the draft might have created unintended consequences for private breeders. 

Councilman Joe Bossone last month said he wanted to redraft the proposed ordinance, which was up for final vote, and remove any language that would have unintentionally banned dog and cat breeding in Manasquan homes and kennels.

"The original intent of this ordinance was not to affect or target individual households or a kennel that may breed dogs, (but) the way it's worded may just do that," Bossone said last month meeting. 

The council voted 5-0 to defeat the proposal with the intention to reintroduce the new draft at its Sept. 4 meeting, where its first revised reading passed unanimously. 

Borough Attorney Mark Kittrick was tasked with removing any reference to kennels and kennel owners from the original draft, but no other changes would be made, officials have said. 

Citing research from the Humane Society of the United States, the draft ordinance (2120-12) said that many licensed breeders in fact breed dogs or cats "in relatively inhumane conditions." 

Commonly referred to as "puppy mills" and "kitten factories," such breeders have been known by authorities to over-breed, inbreed, lack standard veterinary care, provide poor-quality food and shelter, lack human socialization, and over-crowd cages, the draft said. 

It adds that dogs bred in so-called puppy mills are more likely to have behavorial and/or health problems. 

"[T]he Borough Council believes that a community that promotes animal welfare will be a healthier community," the draft said. 

Violators of the proposed ordinance would face either fines of up to $2000, 90 days in jail, community service, or a combination of the three, the draft said. 

The governing body also believes the proposed ban would encourage more pet adoptions from shelters, "thereby saving animals' lives and reducing the cost to the public sheltering of animals," the draft said.

Officials have said that the borough's only pet shop owner expressed no qualms with the proposed ordinance. 

The governing body is scheduled to meet for its regular meeting 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, at Borough Hall.