HOUSTON – A Houston pet store owner is accused of breaking the City’s “humane pet store” ordinance which bans stores from selling animals from puppy mills, instead requiring sales of puppies from places like animal shelters or private rescues.
Petland owner Luis Marquez was scheduled to appear in a City of Houston Municipal Court on Thursday afternoon. He was not there and after waiting 15 minutes, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
Marquez was due in court regarding at least seven citations he has received for allegedly selling pets from puppy mills, in violation of the City’s ordinance.
“These animals are used purely for profit,” Lisa Tynan of the nonprofit Houston PetSet said. “People are often unknowingly purchasing very, very sick animals.”
It’s the first time a case has been brought to trial under the new ordinance, BARC’s deputy assistant director Jarrad Mears said.
A spokesperson for Petland told KPRC 2 late Thursday that the store will comply and pay each fine.
BARC enforcement officers started writing the Class C misdemeanor tickets back in February. So far, a total of about a dozen have been written, Mears added.
Mears said Petland is the only pet store they are aware of in the city that’s currently out of compliance. Others have either shut down or moved outside city limits when the ordinance took effect, he said.
“They don’t have to stop selling puppies. They just have to source them from humane sources,” Tynan said.
Pet stores are required to source their animals from a humane organization, like a nonprofit or municipal shelter, under the ordinance passed by the Houston City Council last year. Enforcement started this year.
BARC plans to ramp up enforcement of the ordinance until compliance is met, which means Petland will have to get pets from the proper places or shut down, Mears said.
“In addition to being a humane issue, it’s also a consumer protection issue,” Tynan said. “What good are laws and ordinances if they’re not being enforced?”