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In a Canadian first, the city of Richmond has voted to ban puppy sales at pet stores – a restriction designed to curb sales from puppy mills as well as impulse purchases that can result in buyer’s remorse when a cute, furry bundle turns out to be too much to handle.

But while animal-welfare groups are jubilant, Richmond pet store owners – and the Canadian pet industry – are howling mad.

“We have a lot of good policies,” said Ernest Ang, who owns a Pet Habitat store in Richmond that would be prohibited from selling puppies under the new regulation. “Not all pet stores are the same.”

“We are extremely disappointed,” said Louis McCann, executive director of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which represents Canadian pet store owners on policy matters. “This bylaw, while well-meaning, will achieve absolutely nothing when it comes to regulating puppy mills. In fact, we would submit that by banning the sale at one of the most regulated locations, you would increase the number of sites that are unregulated.”

The number of puppies sold through licensed pet stores is tiny compared with the number sold through online sales or other, completely unregulated, channels, pet store owners say.

The ban is a step in the right direction and other jurisdictions will likely follow suit, said Marcie Moriarty of the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which lobbied the Richmond council to impose the ban.

“No animal-welfare organization is saying this is going to solve all of the issues,” Ms. Moriarty said. “What it does address is the direct, impulse buy that only comes from the storefront purchase – people walking in the mall past the pet store and being taken in by that fluffy cute puppy in the window.”

The SPCA and Richmond Animal Protection Society shelters regularly take in dogs whose owners say they purchased them at pet stores without considering matters such as vet bills or behavioural problems, Ms. Moriarty said.

The primary focus of the bylaw, however, is puppy mills – high-volume operations that have been criticized for practices such as overcrowding animals and selling puppies that are sick or weak.

Mr. Ang’s store sells primarily toy breeds, which he obtains from Hunte Corp., a Missouri-based puppy broker.

In a submission to Richmond council, the BCSPCA said that Hunte “is known to source puppies from puppy mills and other unmonitored breeding facilities.”

Mr. Ang said he purchases from Hunte because it can supply specialty breeds that local breeders can’t, and that the company’s practices are highly regulated. Mr. Ang, citing competitive concerns, declined to say what percentage of his revenues come from puppy sales, but said that his business would be gravely hurt by a ban on puppy sales.

The bylaw was discussed at a lengthy, heated council meeting on Tuesday night, where Mr. Ang and other pet store owners pleaded their case.

“It seems to be acknowledged by all the parties that there is a problem with so-called puppy mills, that sell dogs in very high volumes and that are subjected to inhumane treatment,” Richmond Mayor Malcolm Mr. Brodie said. “So it’s a question of how do we deal with that. At the local level, there are only a few levers at our disposal, and we want to do what we can.”

The bylaw received a third reading, and unanimous backing from council, on Tuesday. It is expected to come to council for final adoption in November and to take effect on April 30.