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New York council votes to ban pet rabbit sales

The ban would follow similar measures in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

By Ben Hooper
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NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The New York City Council voted to ban pet stores from selling rabbits due to concerns about shelter overpopulation.

The council voted Wednesday to approve the bunny ban after members cited figures showing the rabbit population in city shelters has doubled from 300 in 2012 to 600 in 2014.

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The ban, which must now be approved by Mayor Bill de Blasio, would still allow rabbits to be kept as pets, but would outlaw selling the animals inside the city.

"Rabbits reproduce like -- rabbits," Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, D-Queens, said at a press conference promoting the measure. "There's no space in the shelter system right now for rabbits."

The council passed additional measures Wednesday banning indirect purchases of cats and dogs from "puppy mills," requiring pet stores to spay or neuter pets before selling them, and ordering animals to be microchipped before they are given permanent homes.

Pet stores have previously been banned from selling rabbits in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. National chain Petco has ceased selling rabbits in all of its locations.

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