Austin City Code Chapter 3-3 prohibits pet stores from selling commercially bred dogs and cats; retail sales are limited to animals sourced from shelters or rescues. The rule complements Austin's No-Kill mission and aligns with statewide and national anti-puppy-mill efforts.
Austin became one of the earliest Texas cities to ban retail sale of commercially bred dogs and cats. City Code Chapter 3-3 restricts pet stores to offering for adoption only those dogs and cats obtained from public animal shelters, government animal-control facilities, or registered nonprofit animal-rescue organizations. The rule targets commercial puppy-mill and kitten-mill supply chains while supporting Austin's No-Kill goal of placing every adoptable animal. Stores must keep paperwork showing source organizations and may not pay per-animal placement fees that resemble wholesale purchasing. Private breeder sales by individuals are not banned but remain subject to Austin's mandatory spay-neuter and breeder-permit framework. Hamsters, fish, reptiles, and birds are not covered by the rescue-only rule.
Selling commercially bred dogs or cats in violation of Chapter 3-3 is a Class C misdemeanor with fines up to five hundred dollars per animal per day, and repeat violations may trigger business license actions through Austin Code Department.
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