Help Stop Pet Overpopulation in Polk County Florida.

Approximately 21000 dogs and cats go through intake across the county animal shelter and various rescues.  Tensions are high between animal advocates and the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).  The major issues hinge on funding.  The below proposed changes and actions do not require any additional funding.  The below proposed changes and actions are small things that could make a big difference.

We are asking the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to limit the advertising of the sale of puppies and kittens under the age of 6 months for profit.  This includes banning sales or advertising in public places such as parks, parking lots, road sides, etc.  No flyers, no signs allowed.   Enforce and enhance current policies to reflect this request.

We would ask the BOCC to reach out to retail establishments/places of employment on our behalf to request them to disallow advertising of dogs and cats under the age of 6 months old for sale, such as on flyers and on both employee and public bulletin boards based on the massive number of homeless animals in the county.  This is simply a request and of course couldn't be mandated. 

We would ask that all retail dog/cat sale locations such as pet stores and flea markets, adopt a "rescue only" sales model like other counties in Florida.  Any dogs or cats under the age of 6 months should come from approved shelters and/or non-profits (with oversight).

We would ask the BOCC to reach out to social media platforms, who already prohibit animal sales,  on the behalf of the undersigned to streamline their algorithms to weed out "re-homing" posts in our zip codes.  Re-homing posts are often just pet sales ads in disguise.   Pet sales are already "forbidden" on many social sites but algorithms aren't catching them all.   Again, this is a request for the social media platform to tighten their algorithms.  This isn't a request to mandate.  

We would also ask that the BOCC request the removal of social media groups that focus on sales of dogs/cats under the age of 6 months in our zip codes, on platforms that already disallow dog/cat sales.  Creating "groups" is a popular work-around to their rule.  This is a request to tighten the algorithms on platforms that already disallow the sale of dogs/cats.  

We would ask the BOCC to reach out to the free online classified site "HOOBLY" and request that any ads for the sale of dogs/cats under the age of 6 months in our county be required to show the breed specific health testing information of the parent animals or be removed from their platform.  Government cannot force this, of course, but we would ask for a good faith effort. HOOBLY is one of the largest outlets for backyard breeders to offload their litters.  Just a simple request.  Not a mandate.  

We would ask that the BOCC require breeding/kenneling permits, with strict litter limitations, health certificates, breed specific genetic testing, etc. for those that breed/sell dogs/cats for profit in Polk County.

We ask for mandatory spay/neuter of all cats whose owners do not have a breeding permit. 

Polk County shelters and rescues are struggling to find homes for the animals already here.

At the same time, people are breeding and selling puppies and kittens for hundreds or even thousands of dollars while little consideration is given to genetic health, breed standards,  temperament, or overpopulation issues.  

We believe Polk County should address this problem before these animals end up in shelters.

 🏪 Pet stores should only use shelter and rescue animals.
Pet stores should not get dogs or cats from:

Commercial breeders
Hobby breeders
Backyard breeders
Home breeders
Brokers
Wholesalers
Dealers
Other breeders or middlemen

Osceola County and Lake County already have a similar rule that prevents pet stores from obtaining dogs and cats from commercial breeders,  brokers or wholesalers. 

Polk County can do this too and take it a step further to prohibit "hobby breeders" from participating in dog/cat retail sales.  

🐕 Protect working dogs
The ordinance should not interfere with legitimate:

Service dogs
Guide dogs
Police dogs
Search-and-rescue dogs
Military working dogs
Other legitimate working-dog programs

Why do this?
Every puppy or kitten sold is another animal taking a potential home away from an animal already waiting in a shelter or rescue.

If it becomes harder to advertise and harder to sell in general, the hope is that unethical breeders will give up trying to make a quick buck in Polk County, and the number of homeless animals drops to a very manageable level.  

Please sign and share this petition.