Pet Advocacy Network Slams West Hollywood’s Sweeping “Pet Prohibition”

Decision to ban live animal sales hurts responsible pet stores and pushes sales underground

ALEXANDRIA, Va. –– Today, the Pet Advocacy Network (PAN) strongly condemned the West Hollywood City Council’s passage of Ordinance No. 25-21, which drastically expands the city’s ban on live animal sales to include birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, arachnids, hermit crabs, and fish. 

“This pet ban doesn’t protect animals— it fuels black market pet trafficking with no accountability,” said Sandy Moore, CEO of the Pet Advocacy Network. “West Hollywood is repeating failed policies instead of learning from them.”

“Ultimately, the radicals calling for this ban don’t believe people should own pets at all—an extreme position that disregards the joy and benefits pets bring to millions of families,” added Moore.
PAN is warning consumers and policymakers that West Hollywood’s new ban will likely lead to a rise in pet scams. A Los Angeles Times investigation found that the state’s 2019 ban on the retail sale of dogs and cats led to a surge in underground markets run by unlicensed and even criminal operators, where “a network of resellers — including ex-cons and schemers — replaced pet stores as middlemen.”