Montclair NJ has earned City Certification through the BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program from Mars Petcare, celebrating the town’s its commitment to creating a pet-friendly community. Montclair is the second New Jersey municipality to receive this distinction.
Humane Montclair, an animal welfare advocacy initiative, submitted an application to highlight numerous Township and private initiatives focused on pets, said Annette Batson, Humane Montclair’s Founder. “Montclair can be proud of this recognition celebrating our community values,” Batson said.
To receive the certification, Montclair met various benchmarks that support pet-friendly shelters, homes, parks and businesses.
“Montclair’s excellent Animal Control Services, the Montclair Township Animal Shelter, its pet friendly parks and businesses, and the recent Ordinance passed to protect pets and people from the puppy mill industry were part of the submission,” Batson said.
Beth Savage, from Mars Petcare, says more people than ever view pets as members of the family.
“Twenty-three million people added a pet during the pandemic, bringing totals to more than 90 million pet-owning households in the United States;1 Montclair is on the forefront of creating a vibrant community where pets are not only welcome, but thrive,” Savage said in a statement.
Montclair Councilor Peter Yacobellis said the recognition was well deserved.”In the last two years, in addition to maintaining a AAA credit rating, we’ve seen our Human Rights Campaign Equality Index reach a perfect 100% score, Montclair get designated an official Monarch USA City and now we’ve become an official Mars Better Cities for Pets. My co-sponsor of our Animal Welfare package, Councilor Robin Schlager and I believe that pets are members of the family. We take animal welfare seriously here as just one of many values we espouse on behalf of our wonderful constituents – the furry ones too,” Yacobellis said in a statement.
Mayor Sean Spiller said: “In so many ways, Montclair is such a special place. Not only are we a great place to live for humans, but we are also a Better City for Pets!”
Humane Montclair’s Batson hopes Montclair’s many initiatives will set an example for other New Jersey municipalities. “Our town supports a pet-friendly community with its multiple parks, pet friendly events and businesses, a thriving animal shelter, compassionate Animal Control program, and a recently passed local animal welfare legislative package that includes an ordinance prohibiting the retail sale of dogs and cats in Montclair, many of which come from the puppy mill industry.
About Humane Montclair
Humane Montclair is a volunteer-based animal welfare advocacy organization with a mission to elevate Montclair’s pet/animal friendliness through policy and community outreach, while raising awareness about the intersection of animal welfare with public health, food, climate change, sustainability and social justice. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
About Mars Petcare
Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates across 50+ countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.
The BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ program works with government, businesses and non-profits to help communities be pet-friendly. Created in partnership with Civic Design Center, a leader in designing public spaces, it incorporates input from government and animal welfare experts.
The full list of BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ certification recipients is available at //BetterCitiesForPets.com/cities. To learn more, visit BetterCitiesForPets.com
1 American Pet Products Association Pet Industry Market Size, Trends & Ownership Statistics: https://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp