Oakland Park mayor opposes puppy mill ban, wants support for chickens

OAKLAND PARK — A proposal to prohibit stores from selling pets raised in puppy mills took a fowl twist when the mayor said he couldn’t support a law for “cute, furry, fluffy” animals that didn’t also protect clucking, egg-laying ones.

Mayor Jed Shank was willing to do a little horsetrading, saying he would consider the proposed law if it also included protections for other animals that endure inhumane conditions.

“I don’t own a puppy. I own chickens,” said Shank, who has four. “If we bring this forward, I want a ban on any non-free-range eggs in the supermarket. I also want a ban on any non-free-range grass-fed beef in the super- market. And I want a ban on all pesticides, indoors and outdoors.”

Vice Mayor Tim Lonergan wasn’t going to be egged on by the mayor and said he had no interest in adding in what he considered to be poison pills.

“This is why the federal government isn’t working, because people keep tacking things onto bills that stop them dead in their tracks and then they make no progress at all,” Lonergan said.

Many Broward County cities have banned the sale of commercially-bred puppies and kittens, concerned about how they’re confined and that they usually end up as sickly pets sold to unsuspecting customers. Some of the cities are Sunrise, Margate, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Tamarac, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach and Wilton Manors.

Lonergan wanted Oakland Park to join the cause now that recent court decisions have upheld similar laws in Illinois and Rhode Island.

Commissioner John Adornato supported the idea, but Commissioners Shari McCartney and Sara Guevrekian didn’t see it as a city problem and didn’t think the city should pass a law just because others had.

“I feel compelled to say it’s important and we should do it, whether it’s a bandwagon issue or not,” Lonergan said.

That left its fate in the mayor’s hands. Rather than just say no, Shank offered his proposal because he said it was important for the city to be “consistent in our protection” of all animals.